On December 5, World Soil Day, associations from Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America and Australia joined forces to launch the International Compost Alliance (ICA), a voluntary partnership to advance awareness of the benefits and use of compost globally. “The Alliance looks to offer positive solutions for climate change mitigation, soil health and food security, building on years of working collaboration between organics recycling organizations,” note Alliance founders. “By pooling expertise and knowledge, the Alliance seeks to maximize the recycling of organic wastes and advance the manufacturing of certified, high quality compost. Despite organics recycling being an affordable and proven solution to the climate mitigation and methane emission reduction goals, it remains an underutilized and undervalued technology.”

Founding members of the global alliance include: Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology; Australian Organics Recycling Association; Compost Council of Canada; European Compost Network; International Solid Waste Association; CRÉ – Composting and Anaerobic Digestion Association of Ireland; WasteMINZ (Waste Management Institute of New Zealand); United States Composting Council; and Compost Research & Education Foundation. Membership is open to any membership-based organization that aligns with the Alliance’s vision and mission of advancing organics recycling and producing high quality compost and digestate products. In a joint statement, the ICA said: “Compost is a win-win solution to climate change … We hope the International Compost Alliance helps usher in a new era of global collaboration on this issue, to ensure that compost, and its role in soil health and food security, is central to the efforts in tackling climate change.” A You Tube launch video has messages from the founding members.