Top: The new platforms are engaging compost manufacturers and local government officials that have or are initiating food waste collection programs. Top photo courtesy of The Compost Company; bottom photo by Lawrence Strong, courtesy of Recology
The Composting Consortium, a collaboration managed by the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners, launched two new platforms in August to expand its mission to create more food waste composting capacity in the U.S.: the Composter Innovator Program and the Municipal Partner Platform. The platforms are designed to engage directly with municipalities and composters across the country. The Composter Innovator Program (CIP) brings U.S. compost manufacturers to the table to play an active role in shaping the future of the compost industry on topics like contamination, policy, financing and scaling food waste composting infrastructure. “This collaboration amplifies the perspectives of composters and delivers unified industry recommendations to policymakers, regulatory bodies, and compostable packaging manufacturers and brands,” explains Caroline Barry, the Composting Consortium’s program manager. “The CIP is free and open to full-scale compost manufacturers in the U.S. that are enthusiastic about these topics, and willing to commit time each year to help shape the future of the industry.”
The program is focused on accomplishing three main goals:
- Collaborative data analysis with composters to identify the cost of processing compostable packaging. Findings will be used to provide recommendations on how Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) funds can support composting infrastructure in-line with EPR plan objectives. The Consortium is actively seeking partners who wish to be involved in this first project and encourages composters in EPR states — such as California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota and Illinois — to submit their interest to Caroline Barry by September 21st.
- Support yard trimmings facilities that wish to retrofit their operations to accept more complex feedstocks, specifically food waste and compostable packaging.
- Crowd-source solutions to solve for composters’ greatest challenge: contamination.
The Municipal Partner Platform (MPP) is a free-to-access platform for city and county officials focused on sustainability, zero waste and organics management. It connects officials with leaders nationwide to share and discuss best practices in starting and expanding organics collection programs and composting infrastructure. Municipalities of all sizes and stages of development are invited to reach out to the Composting Consortium to explore ways the network can help them achieve their goals of diverting food waste from landfills. The MPP provides access to research, resources, and networks to support food waste collection and composting in their communities.
