This is a guest blog by Sarah Martinez, who serves on the Board of the U.S. Composting Council and is the Sustainability Maven at Eco-Products, Inc.
Are you aware that composting organic materials, such as food scraps and landscaping debris, and incorporating compost into soil not only reduces pressure on landfills, but it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, the need for conventional fertilizer, and the need for irrigation?
Did you also know that in the U.S., we send more food to landfills than any other type of material? Because of composting’s links to climate change, water quality, and water usage, the US Composting Council is in the early stages of developing a task force to help municipalities develop and expand their programs to collect and compost food scraps. This group will develop a toolkit for municipalities, including model policies and programs, model RFPs, and other best practices, to be shared with communities seeking to keep food out of landfills and use it for a higher purpose. They are seeking additional involvement by municipal stakeholders to assist in the development of this toolkit.
The US Composting Council is also offering a discount to municipalities interested in attending their annual conference in January 2017 in Los Angeles. More info: http://compostingcouncil.org/compost2017/#
If you are interested in participating on the task force, attending the USCC conference, or would just like to learn more, please contact USCC board member Sarah Martinez at smartinez@ecoproducts.com.