Top: Group photo of participants on tour at the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Authority’s composting site during the 2023 NYS Organics Summit. Photo courtesy of NYSAR3
The 2024 NYS Organics Summit will be April 16-18, 2024, in Buffalo, New York at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo Hotel and Conference Center. The 10th Annual Summit is organized by the NYS Organics Council, part of the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling (NYSAR3). The event kicks off on April 16 with a plenary showcasing advancements in food scraps diversion and composting in the City of Buffalo, followed by sessions on April 16-17 that cover the complexities of cart contamination and behavior change, as well as the strategies communities are using to address them; improving soil health through compost use; food scraps drop-off programs across New York State; composting facility startups and lessons learned; managing food scraps on-site; and new research focused on the upcycling of food scraps into insect protein, food scraps management at institutions, and the disintegration of compostable packaging. Other topics include anaerobic digestion, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions via sustainable organics management, New York State policy perspectives, composting cannabis, and facility profiles.
“It’s exciting to see the event and interest in the organics recycling industry continue to grow year after year,” notes Kristine Ellsworth, one of the organizers who is with the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Division of Materials Management. “Last year was our biggest event yet and we anticipate the trend to continue for this year. Whether you are a young professional in the field or a seasoned composting operator, the Summit continues to provide a collaborative space for people to come together to share their successes, challenges and discuss emerging issues in the organics recycling industry.”
Tours on April 18 will be visiting Buffalo River Compost, which processes zoo bedding and manure from the Buffalo Zoo, seaweed, fruits, vegetables, breads, flowers, brewery and distillery waste, and wood chips to create western New York’s only Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) Approved compost. Finished compost is bagged as well as sold in bulk. Also on the tour is Generate Upcycle’s Buffalo anaerobic digester, which receives about 45,000 tons/year of organics from farms, food processors, restaurants, and grocery stores. The facility is transitioning from generating renewable electricity to renewable natural gas.
The full agenda and registration details are available at this link.
