US Composting Council Prepares Industry for Increased Organics Recycling, Amid Stiffening Air & Water Regulations

Bethesda, MD – Compost producers in California are preparing for major changes with passage of laws phasing out diversion credit for using green waste for landfill cover, and increased diversion of organics (especially commercial food scraps) – at the same time that air emissions and water quality protections have been increased.

The US Composting Council is holding a workshop in October in California to help those who work in organics recycling to understand and integrate the new realities into their operations: “Composting Under Cover: Minimizing Odors, VOCs and Stormwater Impacts.”

“On one hand, opportunities for compost manufacturers have never been better,” said Matt Cotton of Integrated Waste Management Consulting, USCC Board Member and one of the organizers of the workshop.  “With these new laws, both organic waste generators and jurisdictions need more composting capacity. On the other hand, regulatory hurdles have never been steeper.”

The workshop hopes to showcase compost processing technologies that have evolved to address new challenges in regulatory compliance, and the workshop will focus on those: actively aerated composting in static piles (ASP) and in-vessel composting. In addition to air district compliance, there are clearly other benefits to using active aeration in composting operations, such as improving the speed of compost production and reducing the amount of stormwater leaving a site.

The workshop is Wednesday, October 14 from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m., at the Inland Empire Utilities Agency, 6075 Kimball Ave., Chino CA 91708. Cost for the workshop is $49 per person if registered by September 15, 2015, or $89 per person afterward.

To register visit www.old.compostingcouncil.org/training.