USCC Webinar: Compost Benefits, Uses & Markets
Many compost producers, both municipal and private, get involved in composting as an effective means of recycling organic residuals, with little thought given to marketing the final product. The disposition of the compost is often times viewed as a ‘build it and they will come’ situation, rather than a process which begins when the first organic residuals are delivered to the composting facility. There have been too many instances where surplus stockpiles of compost have become problematic to the producer, resulting in regulatory concerns and a lower value for the finished product. Compost marketing must begin when composting facility construction begins!
Basic marketing tenants include; know your product and understand your targeted market segments. This webinar will explain the agronomic benefits of adding compost to soil and will review the variety of applications for compost in the landscape including; topsoil manufacturing, turf topdressing, backfill mixes, erosion control and others. It will introduce the compost producer to the myriad of compost marketing opportunities available to them. The USCC’s STA Program will also be briefly explained.
Featured speakers:
David Crohn, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside – Benefits of Compost
Dr. Crohn will provide an overview of the variety of agronomic benefits derived from using compost. He will describe the physical, chemical and biological benefits of the products that you either are or will be producing, so that you know what your compost has to offer to prospective users.
Dr. Crohn is an Associate Professor and Waste Management Specialist in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Riverside. A native of North Carolina, he earned his Ph.D. in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Cornell University in 1992. He studies how composts and other materials can best be used (whether as soil amendments, mulches, or fertilizers) to support plant growth while conserving soil, air, and water quality.
Al Rattie, US Composting Council Market Development & STA Program Manager – Uses and Markets for Your Compost
Mr. Rattie will explain the various uses for your compost and what market segments to approach to sell your compost. He will review the most common market segments that are using compost now, and those that you should be contacting about your product. He will also briefly describe the USCC’s STA Program.
Al has been working in the composting industry since 1981, and was an innovator in compost marketing development, communication and product branding. He worked in private industry for over 20 years, building the EarthLife brand, which became synonymous with compost in the mid-Atlantic states for many years. He has managed, either directly or as a sub-contractor, the USCC’s STA Program since 2001.
You can purchase a recording of this webinar in the store
