As part of the project, Implementing Rural Community Composting in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont, CAV partnered with the Northeast Recycling Council, Vermont Community Garden Network (VCGN), and Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District to provide a webinar on Community Composting Team Building.

Building a team for community composting (1:17:44)

This webinar provides an overview of the “people side” of community-scale composting and talks about:

  • Getting started

  • Roles & Tasks

  • Training

  • A Case Study in Central Vermont

  • Creating Sustainable Sites

Download the slide deck (pdf)

A Closer Look

As part of this project, CAV also joined forces with VCGN to take “closer looks” at Shared Leadership and Volunteer Engagement in Community Composting.

Shared Leadership at Community Composting Sites (13:10)

Volunteer Engagement at Community Composting Sites (9:51)

Tip Sheets

  • Volunteer Job Planning & Recruitment

    Volunteers provide crucial compost site operations support and it’s important that they be provided a range of opportunities for getting involved. This tip sheet provides ideas for the different roles and volunteer activities that are needed for a successful community composting site.

  • Volunteer Training & Orientation

    What volunteers need to know depends on their level of involvement in the site. Everyone working onsite should be acquainted with their role and tasks, volunteer engagement, and other site management requirements. This tip sheet also includes a template for creating job descriptions.

  • Volunteer Engagement & Retention

    This tip sheet is intended to put site coordinators “in the shoes” of your compost team volunteers. While people differ about the types of volunteer experiences they desire, there are key elements that tend to be universal in making a volunteer experience memorable (in a good way) and that foster long-term volunteer involvement.

  • Effective Signage

    Integral to ensuring that the site runs smoothly is adopting a range of communication techniques, including site signage. This tip sheet reviews different kinds of signage recommended and gives several examples of effective signs used at a wide range of community composting sites.

  • Good Neighbor Tips

    Being a good neighbor is vital for the long-term sustainability of all community compost sites. Neighbor concerns will arise and it’s up to site coordinators and the compost team to respond to these concerns. This tip sheet provides key “talking points” as well as different ways of communicating with neighbors.

  • Health & Safety Guidance

    When starting a composting program, neighbors, volunteers, staff, and even people in the larger community may have questions about the health and safety of the project. Everyone involved with the collection of food scraps and community composting should follow Health and Safety Guidelines.

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