US Composting Council Announces the 2015 International Compost Awareness Week Poster Contest – Call for Entries for Poster Design

The US Composting Council (USCC) is seeking entries for the annual International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) poster contest, incorporating this year’s theme, Be Loyal to Your Soil– Compost!

The contest runs September 1 through November 15, 2014 and is open to anyone who wishes to share their artistic interpretation of compost and its ties to soil health. The winning poster will serve as the 2014 International Compost Awareness Week promotion and be distributed to more than 1,000 US Composting Council members, state recycling offices and non- profit organizations nationwide.

“We are always amazed at the deep awareness of composting across the country and the world, which is where our entries come from,” said Lorrie Loder, president of the USCC. “With this year being the International Year of Soil, our poster will have a special place on the world stage.”

As the US Representative of the composting industry, USCC has signed onto the International Year of Soils, a project of the Global Soils Partnership and the Food and Agriculture Office of the United Nations. The USCC theme will center on the need for compost as a component of healthy soil in infrastructure development, agriculture and food production – compost’s role in everything from mitigation of brownfields, stormwater management and erosion control, and water conservation.

International Compost Awareness Week is a multi-media publicity and education event that showcases composting and compost products. It features everything from composting in home backyards to large-scale commercial composting facilities and businesses serving entire communities.

The ICAW Poster Contest winner will have his/her winning poster design reproduced and distributed nationwide as the official 2015 ICAW poster, and featured on the USCC website.
The overall winner will receive a $500 prize; and divisional winners (junior, defined as third through eighth grade; senior defined as 8th through 12th grade; and a category of college/adult) will be highlighted on the USCC website and social media.

Compost is produced from the recycling of organic materials to create a valuable soil amendment. When incorporated into soil, it provides plants with essential nutrients, protects against the threat of erosion, and increases soil health without the use of chemicals. It also reduces water pollution.

Poster contest submissions must arrive via email to the USCC by noon Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014 to be eligible. Online judging will take place in November.

Previous winning posters, as well as this year’s registration forms and rules can be viewed at www.old.compostingcouncil.org/posters and click on Poster Rules and Application. For questions, please email icaw@old.compostingcouncil.org.