Program

Conference Program

Conference Program now available!

Conference Brochure

Pre-Conference Workshops | Jan 26

Outstanding Multitrack Program | Jan 27 & 28--SEE BELOW

Sixth Annual COMPOST SHOWCASE!

Live Equipment Demonstrations | Jan 29

Conference Program | TUESday, Jan 27

PLENARY SESSION: CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND REGULATORY ISSUES IN COMPOSTING & ORGANICS RECYCLING
▪ The Composting Industry: Past and Present. History, Trends, & Issues Dr. Eliot Epstein. Professor Emeritus. Boston University.
▪ Composting, Climate Change, and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Charles Peterson & Z. Azizova, The World Bank,
Washington, DC
▪ The Future of the Composting and Organics Recycling Industry. Matt Cotton, USCC/Integrated Waste Management Consulting

Track 1. ODOR CONTROL, EMISSIONS, FACILITY DESIGN, & PROCESS MANAGEMENT

Facility Management & Design
▪ Applying Lean Manufacturing Techniques to Composting Facilities. Frank Franciosi, Novozymes North America. Franklinton, NC.
▪ “How do you fit twenty pounds of “compost” in a five pound bag? Key Design Requirements for Operating a Facility on a Very
Small Footprint. Chuck Wilson, A1 Organics, Denver, CO
▪ Treating Stormwater Runoff from Compost, Reload and Wood Processing Facilities. Jeff Gage, Swanson Bark Products, WA.
▪ Design and Retrofit of Compost Facilities with Operations in Mind. Scott Gamble. CH2M Hill. Bellevue, WA

Process Management and Odor Control
▪ The Next Wave of Aerated Static Pile Biosolids Composting Facilities - With Effective Odor and VOC Controls. Todd Williams. CH2M Hill. Richmond, VA
▪ Mechanical Drying of Biosolids Using Agitated Bay Type Composting System. Richard Nicoletti, Siemens Water Technologies;
IPS Composting Systems, Shrewsbury, MA; Lewis Naylor, Apple Environmental Services, Goshen, IN; M. Calderiso, Bristol, RI
▪ Demonstration and Validation of Compost Monitoring Technologies. Diane S. Roote and P. Brezovec, Concurrent Technologies
Corporation, Pittsburgh, PA, and Allan W. Butler, Bremerton, WA.
▪ Autonomous Odour Alert System. Thierry Pagé, Odotech, Montreal, Qc; B. Mesbah, Airfobep, France.

Emissions from Compost Facilities
▪ A Compost Emissions Primer. Robert Horowitz, California Integrated Waste Management Board. Sacramento, CA
▪ Being the Guinea Pig – Lessons Learned in the Startup Operations and First ever Air Emissions Source Testing of the Largest
Engineered Negative Aerated Static Pile Co-Composting Facility. John Goodwin, Synagro, Taft, CA.
▪ Gaseous Emissions from Composting Facilities, George Savage & Luis Diaz, CalRecovery, Inc. Concord, CA
▪ Food Waste Composting in the California Central Valley: Examining the Interdependencies of Controlling Air Emissions, Evaporative Water Loss, & Compost Quality, Chris Choate, NorCal Waste Systems, CA & Tim O’Neill, Engineered Compost Systems, Seattle, WA

Track 2. ANAEROBIC DIGESTION, COMPOST SYSTEMS & TECHNOLOGIES, MANURE MANAGEMENT METHODS

Manure Management Methods
▪ Advances with Large and Small Scale Ambient Temperature Manure Digesters (lagoon covers). Sharad Deshpande. Environmental Credit Corp., State College, PA
▪ Technical and Financial Viability of Compost and Vermicompost from Swine Manure. Rhonda Sherman, Mark Rice, A Atkinson,
M Renkow, M. Williams, NC State University; C. Campbell & B. Murray, Duke University; Joe Rudek, Environmental Defense Fund
▪ Composting a Real Alternative to High Density Pig Operations in Chile, M. P. Ozores-Hampton, University of Florida, Immokalee, FL; Hernan Vidal, A. Breems & Felipe Montes, Agrosuper, Inc.

Anaerobic Digestion
▪ Anaerobic Digestion: State of the Art 2008. Bruno Mattheeuws and Luc De Baere, Ghent, Belgium.
▪ Energy from Organics: High Solids Anaerobic Digestion – Sustainable Green Energy. Tom Kurtz, Kurtz Bros. Inc. Dublin, OH
▪ Design of Anaerobic Digestion Facilities for Recovering Biogas from Food Wastes. Luis Diaz & George Savage, CalRecovery, CA
▪ Modeling the Design and Financial Feasibility of a Novel Anaerobic Digester Producing Energy from Organic Solid Waste.
Joshua Rapport, R. Zhang, B.Jenkins, B. Hartsough, and T. Tomich, University of California at Davis, CA.

Composting Systems and Technologies
▪ Helping Dairymen Sustainably Manage Nutrients through Low Cost Enclosed Composting of Dairy Solids and Composting Dairy
Waste in the CA Central Valley while Controlling Air Emissions, and Producing High Quality Animal Bedding and Quality Compost.
Tim O’Neill, ECS, Seattle, WA and Charles Krauter, California State University Fresno, CA
▪ A Case Study of In Vessel Aerobic Composting of Food Scraps on a Large, Urban University Campus. Nicholas J. Smith-Sebasto, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ
▪ A Report on Initial Operations at New Jersey's First in Vessel Food Waste Recycling Facility and Implications for the Future of
Food Waste Recycling. Jack Walsdorf, Converted Organics Inc., Woodbridge, NJ. Terri Smith, Princeton, NJ.
▪ City of Hamilton Central Composting Facility - Unique Operating Features. Emil Prpic, Hamilton, ON

Track 3. ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS, EROSION CONTROL, & BENEFITS OF COMPOST USE

Environmental Applications and Improvements Using Compost
▪ The Effects of Seeding Compost Filter Berms: A Water Quality and Structural Performance Study. Beverly Storey & Aditya Desai,
Texas Transportation Institute; Ming-Han Li, Dep't of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University
▪ Sustainable Roadsides in the Houston District. Ethan Beeson, Dana Cote, and Walter Hambrick, TxDOT, Houston, TX
▪ LEED Green Building Credits Using Compost Based Bmp's. Britt Faucette, Filtrexx International, Decatur, GA
▪ Compost Increases Dendroremediation Capacity of Fast Growing Trees. D. L. Rockwood, P. A. Proctor, School of Forest
Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fl. M. Curtis, Buckeye Technologies Inc., Perry, FL.

Compost for Stormwater Management and Erosion Control
▪ Texas Finds Success in Using Compost to Control Erosion: Update on the Nation’s Largest Compost Market.
Barrie Cogburn, Txdot Design Division. Austin, TX. Scott McCoy, KSS Consulting, Austin, TX
▪ Monitoring and Modeling the Effectiveness of Composting, Exporting & Utilizing Dairy Manure from the North Bosque Watershed. Bill Carter. NonPoint Source Program, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Compost Applications
▪ A Closed-Loop System for Managing Organic Waste, Carbon Emissions and Plant Disease in Horticulture. Alice K. Palmer,
Microbial Activity Pty Ltd, Cambridge, TAS, Australia
▪ Turning Compost into Cash: One Farmer’s Experience in Saving Big and Gaining Bushels. Edwin Blosser, Midwest Bio Systems, Tampico, IL. Grey Williams, Dextera, Inc. Little Rock, AR.
▪ Key Commercial Breakthrough: Producing Renewable Peat Moss Replacement from Anaerobically Digested Fiber. Garrett Smith, Stewardsmith, Portland, Oregon, R. Davis, Organix, Inc., Walla Walla, WA, M. Jett, Poly-Flex, Inc., Grand Prairie, TX
▪ Green Building Starts from the Soil Up. Literally. Jennifer Appel. Landsculpture & Design. Houston, Texas.

Track 4. FEEDSTOCK MANAGEMENT, COMPOSTABLE PLASTICS, BIOREMEDIATION, & REGULATIONS

Composting and Feedstock Management I
▪ Utilizing a “Modified Static Pile” Composting Methodology to Manage White Perch, Morone Americana, Mortalities. Mark King, Maine DEP/Maine Compost Team, Augusta, Maine
▪ Characterization of the Changu and Chimato Composting Systems Practiced by Smallholder Farmers in Malawi. P. Nalivata,
University of Malawi; L. James & K. Ritz, Cranfield University, UK
▪ High Performance Composting of Sludge from Food Industry Using Paper Mixing to Sawdust Methods. Shukra Paudel. Lalitpus, Nepal

Compostable Plastics, Bioremediation and Trace Metal Transfer
▪ Experience with Biodegradable/Compostable Plastics: Mulch Films for Sustainable Agriculture. Bob Findlen, Mirel Bioplastics. Telles, Lowell, MA
▪ The History of Biobased Plastics. Brenda Platt, Institute For Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC
▪ Use of Compost Tea for Bioremediation. Fatih Buyuksonmez, San Diego State University, CA
▪ Co-Composting of Petroleum Refinery Waste Sludge with Manures. Harrison Atagana, Institute for Science and Technology Education, Pretoria, South Africa

State Composting Issues and Regulations Roundtable
▪ Come and talk to your fellow state advocates and regulators about issues facing your state. Learn from each others experiences.
Ginny Black, Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance & A. Arroyo-Rodriguez, Ohio EPA

Conference Program | Wednesday, Jan 28

Track 1. CARBON CREDITS, REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS (GHG's), ZERO WASTE PLANNING, MAXIMIZING
ORGANICS DIVERSION, & ENERGY PRODUCTION

Carbon Credits, Climate Change, Organics and Composting
▪ Receiving Carbon Credits for Food Waste Diversion Projects: Case Studies in the U.S. Scott Subler. Environmental Credit Corp.,
State College, PA
▪ The CCX Process and Protocol for Composting. Sally Brown, Washington State University; Scott Subler, Environmental Credit Corp., PA; and Brenda Smyth, CIWMB, CA
▪ Stop Trashing the Climate: Compost and Arctic Ice. Brenda Platt, Institute For Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC

Organics Program Development and Maximizing Diversion
▪ Zero Waste Planning - Finding the Right Mix of Source Separated Collection & Back-End Processing to Maximize Organics Diversion. JoZientek, Integrated Waste Management Division, San Jose, CA
▪ On the Road to a Greener City: Strategies for Increasing Organics Diversion. Pat Parker, Hamilton, ON
▪ The Green Waste Program in Houston. Harry Hayes, City of Houston, Texas
▪ Source Separated Organics curbside programs for over 2,000,000 homes: Case Studies of Successful Community
Programs. Doug Hill. Norseman Plastics, Osage City, KS

Awards Luncheon | Keynote presentation "The Use of Compost and Mulch and their Effects on Water Conservation and the Carbon Cycle." by Malcolm Beck, author of The Secret Life of Compost.

Energy Production and Opportunities in the Biomass Market
▪ Conversion Options for Biogas - Electricity, Heat, Vehicle Fuel, or Pipeline Gas. Jan Allen. CH2M Hill. Bellevue, WA
▪ Energy From Organics: Plug-Flow Digestion by Means of the Bes-Process. Luc De Baere and Bruno Mattheeuws, Ghent, Belgium
▪ Using MSW Organics to Produce Community Based Bioenergy. Kevin Matthews & Randy Cluff, Canada Composting Inc., ON, Canada
▪ An Experience Report from Europe - How the Compost Industry Can Benefit from the Expected Growth in Renewable Heating.
Johannes Pohl, Komptech USA, Inc. Lafayette, CO.

Food Waste Composting and Increasing Organics Diversion
▪ Community Development Process to Establish Source Separated Organics Program to Reduce Costs & Carbon Emissions.
John Madole, John Christopher Madole Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, MN.
▪ Using Short Term Mobile Onsite Composting Services as a Cost Management Solution for Foodservice and Hospitality Industry.
Brenda A. Lotito, Uwf, Inc. East Syracuse, New York
▪ Ontario Foodscrap Collection 2006 – 08, Rod Muir. Sierra Club of Canada, Ottawa, ON
▪ Sink Your Waste: Growing International Interest in Food Waste Disposers to Achieve Food Scrap Diversion Goals.
Kendall Christiansen, Gaia Strategies, Brooklyn, NY; Tim Evans, Tim Evans Environment, Surrey, England

Zero Waste Barbecue Sponsored by the BPI

Track 2. FIRE PREVENTION & CONTROL, SAFETY AND OSHA REQUIREMENTS, COMPOSTING & FEEDSTOCK MANAGEMENT
ORGANIC BANS UNDER THREAT

Friends Don't Let Friends Get Hurt
▪ Safe Operation of Wheel Loaders, Compact (Skid Steer) Loaders & Forklifts in a Compost Facility. David Hill, Cyclelogic, Bethesda, MD
▪ Are you Locked Out? OSHA Requirements for Composting Facilities. Jan Allen. CH2M Hill. Bellevue, WA
▪ Hazard Reduction for Workers Collecting & Composting Road-Killed Carcasses. Nellie Brown. Workplace Health & Safety, Cornell University

Composting and Feedstock Management II
▪ State-of-the-Art in Managing Vegetative Disaster Debris. Michael Alexander, Kessler Consulting, Inc, Brattleboro, VT
▪ Degradation of Nicotine during Composting of Tobacco Waste. Fatih Buyuksonmez, San Diego State University, CA
▪ Aerated Static Pile Construction in Puerto Rico for Coffee Pulp Composting. Joaquín A. Chong, University of Puerto Rico, PR

Control and Prevention of Fires at Compost Sites
▪ Spontaneous Combustion in Organic Materials - Conditions and Causes. Robert Rynk, SUNY Cobleskill; Cobleskill, NY
▪ Preventing and Controlling Fires at Compost and Mulch facilities; Risa Fisher, Risa Fisher & Associates, Dallas, TX
▪ The Helotes Fire, San Antonio, TX. Alan Watts, Texas Compost Advisory Council, Cedar Creek, TX.
▪ The Hartford, CT Fire Revisited, Robert Rynk, SUNY Cobleskill; Cobleskill, NY

Forum on Organics Bans Under Threat
▪ The status of yard waste and other organic related landfill bans will be reviewed with particular attention to Missouri and Michigan. Policy implications of landfill gas recovery, organics and avoided carbon, and behavior of the public and private sectors around this issue will be explored. JD Lindeberg, Resource Recycling Systems, Ann Arbor, MI

Track 3. MARKETING, BUSINESS, EDUCATION, & REGULATIONS

Marketing, Regulations, & Planning for the Future
▪ Compost: Regulation, the Public Perspective. H.C. Clark, Rice University, Houston, TX
▪ Labeling Strategies for Compost. Ron Alexander, R. Alexander Associates, Inc., Apex, NC
▪ State Organics Roadmap – Municipal Marketing Toolbox & Implementing Cal Trans Spec's for Municipalities. Michele Young,
City of San José, San Jose, CA

How to Overcome Objections in the Compost Sales Call
▪ This session will include sales call basics and role playing. Hypothetical sales calls will be developed and played out as a valuable learning experience for market staff. A panel discussion will give attendees a chance to bring up some objections that they have had in real life situations. Presented by USCC Market Development Committee and Rod Tyler, Filtrexx

Composting and Environmental Education is Good Business
▪ Composting is Good Business: Comprehensive Composting Program Using Biodegradable Plastics. Brad Shipp, Cox Communications, West Warwick, RI
▪ Schools Lunch Composting – District model for replication. Michele Young, City of San José, San Jose, CA
▪ Composting and Organics Recycling Program Development. Peter Klaich. Garick Corp., Cleveland, Ohio.
▪ Environmental Education: Composting is the Foundation. Benjamin Reid, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
Compost Brain Positive, Hawthorne, CA.

50 Years of Composting Progress
▪ 50 Years of Composting Progress. Nora Goldstein & Jerome Goldstein. BioCycle, Emmaus, PA.
▪ Valuing the Composting Industry to the U.S. Ron Alexander, R. Alexander Associates, Inc., Apex, NC

Track 4. TOOLS OF THE TRADE, USCC COMMITTEE MEETINGS, USCC/SWANA CERTIFICATION EXAM

USCC Committee Meetings

"Tools of the Trade" Workshop
▪ Session includes discussion and hands on demonstration of field and laboratory equipment for monitoring the composting
process, odors, product maturity/stability, product quality, and more… Matthew Cotton, Integrated Waste Mgm’t Consulting

USCC/SWANA Certification Exam for Manager of Compost Programs

NETWORKING & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES | Jan 27-29

• Exhibitors Reception - Meet with Equipment Vendors and Service Providers at the Largest Industry Tradeshow in North America
• "Expert’s Corner" - schedule one on one problem solving meetings with leading experts
• USCC Awards Luncheon  | Keynote presentation "The Use of Compost and Mulch and their Effects on Water Conservation and the Carbon Cycle." by Malcolm Beck, author of "The Secret Life of Compost".
• Zero Waste Barbecue Sponsored by the BPI
• Compost Showcase – Learn about Product Marketing   
• Raffles of $5,000 worth of USCC Publications & more....

Thursday, January 29, 2009

“Live” Equipment Demonstrations & Facility Tours at the New Earth Compost Facility