• Natasha Duarte, Composting Association of Vermont (CAV)

• Josh Kelly, Solid Waste Program Manager, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

• Dan Goossen, CAV Board of Directors, CSWD Organics Diversion Facility

• Alyssa Eiklor, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

Michael Martinez is a certified Master Gardener, a former elementary school teacher, and the Founder and Executive Director of L.A Compost. Michael has over 8 years of experience building gardens and compost systems throughout the County of Los Angeles as well as other parts of the country. Michael has grown LA Compost from a group of volunteers collecting organics with bikes to a decentralized network of community compost hubs that span across the most populated county in the country.

Technology is transforming the way composting operations manage data, monitor processes, and measure impact. This 90-minute panel will explore a range of digital tools designed to support composting efforts in diverse settings. Panelists will discuss innovations such as remote data collection systems, software for tracking compost production and impact, and other emerging technologies that enhance efficiency and sustainability. Join us to learn how these advancements are shaping the future of composting and resource recovery.

Panelists:

• Sashti Balasundaram, WeRadiateNY

Digital Data Collection of Compost Windrows in Remote Locations Using Solar

Digital data collection to monitor the composting process of windrows in remote locations, aiming to improve waste management and environmental monitoring. Remote monitoring equipment was deployed to track key metrics, such as temperature for PRFP, allowing for continuous, efficient monitoring without the need for on-site visits. System optimized composting conditions, reduced labor costs, and utilized renewable energy on-site. The project highlights how remote monitoring can enhance composting efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and support regulatory compliance. Showcases the potential of digital data collection to advance sustainable waste management practices and foster more resilient, sustainable communities.

• Tess Feigenbaum, Epic Renewal

Harnessing Data to Transform a Growing Industry

Epic Renewal has been developing an information management system designed by, with, and for community composters. This essential tool helps composters optimize operations and lay the groundwork for sustainable growth. In this session, Epic Renewal will present a case study on its efforts to collect and utilize compost process data, enabling composters of all sizes to measure their impact, showcase viability, and scale their operations effectively.

• Brent Arnold, StopSuite

Description coming

Schools are central to community hubs, providing an opportunity to enhance community composting initiatives, fortify community resilience and skills, and increase the community of practice supporting our schools. The Upper Valley Super Compost Project (UVSCP) works with area schools to build compost classrooms to enable students to turn their food scraps into compost for their school gardens, demonstrating a complete circle of life in which to ground STEAM lessons, outdoor learning, and health and life skills. In Wednesday’s session we’ll review the process of how UVSCP seeds and nurtures relationships with schools and surrounding communities, and review some case studies.

On Thursday’s field trip we’ll lead a tour at one of our active ‘compost palace’ classrooms.

Presenters:

• Cat Buxton, Grow More Waste Less

• Alison Baker, Fruit to Root

A thriving organics recycling ecosystem depends on numerous interconnected factors, including state and local support, access to land and clean feedstocks, grassroots initiatives, and demand from end users. In 2022, Compost Technical Services (CTS) conducted a comprehensive study mapping 30 key factors that influence composting success—examining them in a state that lags far behind Vermont in many aspects. This research led to the development of a practical framework for identifying strengths, addressing gaps, and fostering growth in composting systems. In this session, CTS will introduce this framework and guide participants in applying it to Vermont’s unique landscape—exploring both challenges and opportunities. The goal is to bridge what can often feel like siloed topics, celebrate the strength of Vermont's composting community, and look towards areas of future growth.

• Facilitator: James McSweeney, Compost Technical Services

The need for compost-related technical service providers is growing, but there aren’t enough trained professionals to meet the demand. Experts across Vermont and neighboring states recognize the essential role these specialists play in advancing sustainable waste management, compost best practices, and soil health. This roundtable will focus on how to attract, train, and retain a strong workforce in this field. What support do people need to enter and stay in this work? What job opportunities exist to keep skilled professionals engaged? Join us to discuss challenges, explore opportunities, and develop strategies for building a thriving and sustainable compost technical service workforce.

• Facilitator: Natasha Duarte, Composting Association of Vermont

Municipal composting programs are continuously evolving to address challenges and expand capacity. This session will feature updates from two solid waste management districts tackling key issues in organics recycling. Chittenden Solid Waste District’s Organics Recycling Facility will share strategies for controlling contamination in municipal composting, including policy development, equipment solutions, and communication tactics to improve hauler compliance and overall program success. Windham Solid Waste Management District will provide an inside look at the planning, funding, and construction of their new compost aeration system, designed to increase processing capacity and efficiency. Join this session to learn from real-world experiences, gain insights into innovative solutions, and explore the future of municipal composting operations.

Panelists:

• Kim Stacey and Allison Smith, Chittenden Solid Waste District-Organics Recycling Facility

Strategies for Contamination Control in Modern Municipal Composting

Join Chittenden Solid Waste District’s Organic Recycling Facility home of Green Mountain Compost in covering one of the most persistent challenges in composting: contamination. Topics to be covered include: the process of building, implementing, troubleshooting a new contamination policy; innovative equipment solutions for efficiency; communication strategies to improve relationships and compliance with haulers and a refreshed dedication to curbing an industry wide problem grounded in collaboration, transparency, and continuous improvement. GMC’s efforts have yielded early results, but challenges remain. This session will share practical strategies and lessons learned in a large-scale municipal facility. 

• Brian Jerose, Agrilab Technologies Inc. and Robert Spencer, Windham Solid Waste Management District

Installation of a compost aeration system at Windham Solid Waste Management District

WSWMD serves 17 member municipalities in southeastern Vermont, and operates a recycling center, transfer station and composting facility in Brattleboro.  Growth of the food scraps and other residuals collected and composted at the site required the district to obtain a new state permit for more capacity, and invest in facility infrastructure.  With funding from the district board, the state of Vermont and the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities program, site work began in October 2024 and is nearing completion as of this submission.  The presentation will document the phases of design and development, construction, implementation and pending start-up of the compost aeration facility.

In this session, panelists explore methods for composting unconventional feedstocks and share innovative approaches to processing human urine, liquid waste, and other nutrient-rich materials. Learn how these practices reduce waste, enhance nutrient management, and support soil health. From small-scale demonstration projects to commercial applications, this session will offer actionable insights and inspire new ways to transform waste into valuable compost products. 

Panelists:

• Benson Colella, Wasted PBC

The potential of urine as a sustainable nutrient input for compost

Urine is rich in nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, yet these nutrients are often lost to the watershed through traditional wastewater treatment.  This presentation will explore how urine collected from specialized toilets can serve as a sustainable alternative to chemical fertilizers, thus reducing reliance on mining and fossil fuels.  We will discuss the nutrient composition of urine and its regulatory and processing requirements for use as a soil amendment.  We will share preliminary results from an experiment in which commercial-scale leaf litter compost was supplemented with urine.  Those findings will compare nutrient profiles of the urine-supplemented compost to a control and share operational insights into the urine supplementation of compost at-scale. 

• John Culpepper, Compost for Good

Composting human urine. What? Why?

Compost for Good operates a modest facility, registered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to process diverted human urine through a high temperature composting process. This Human Urine Research and Demonstration facility is open to entrepreneurs, policy makers, farmers, and others. To date we have successfully processed over 2,000 gallons of urine, producing numerous cubic yards of high quality, high value, biologically robust compost. We have also experimented with different recipes, mixing urine, food scraps, spent brewery grain, and other nitrogenous materials using densified wood pellets and wood chips as a carbon source.  In this presentation I will share our successes, and show examples of finished compost images of the various compost recipes under a microscope.

• Jean Bonhotal, Cornell Waste Management Institute

Composting Eggs, Milk, Whey, Manure, Blood, and Other Difficult Liquids from Disaster

Composting liquids can be an important part of the composting process as moisture is essential for dry carbon resources.  Eggs in the billions, dairy residuals, blood, offal, liquid manure, high BOD liquids from flooding are a very difficult task, but it is doable.  We need more than one tool in the toolbox to properly dispose of liquids. Form a bowl or volcano to absorb the liquid before it’s able to hit the ground, creating these depressions in very thick carbon layers is the key. 15,000 gallons of milk waste can be placed into a 100 ft windrow weekly for 6 to 8 weeks. Mix it all together on site and load it into a loader/ truck/ bucket and form windows out of that mixture.  Composting liquids is a win/win option.