Contamination is a major challenge for composting at all scales, often requiring significant investments of labor, time, and money to manage. Join this webinar to hear how researchers and programs are measuring contamination. Whether you’re launching a new program or refining an existing one, this webinar offers actionable strategies for using data to drive results.
Learn how Hutchinson, Minnesota, is reducing compost contamination by combining rigorous measurement with creative, community-driven outreach. Cassandra Meuffels (Outreach Coordinator, City of Hutchinson) and Mimi Shah (Principal, Amplify for Change) will share insights from Compost It Right!, a comprehensive education campaign that uses clear messaging, citywide materials, and strong partnerships to boost participation and reduce contamination in curbside organics collection. The session will cover how Hutchinson tracks progress using cart tagging, waste audits, and inbound load assessments—and how these data inform campaign adjustments. You’ll also hear how events, community outreach, local business engagement, and a “three strikes” system reinforce behavior change across the community.
Cassandra and Mimi’s presentation will be followed by a presentation by Dr. Fred Michel, a professor of Biosystems Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU). He will focus on using lab tests and bioassays to identify contaminants as well as share recent research findings from year one of a two-year project testing for the presence and concentrations of persistent herbicides as well as other contaminants such as PFAs.
Caroline Barry, Program Manager at Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, will present on contamination research and analysis conducted at 10 diverse US composting sites. She will discuss how to do a waste characterization study, measurement considerations for feedstock, overs, and finished compost (including manual waste sorts and lab tests), the results from their research, and an overview of associated costs.
A moderated Q&A session will follow the presentations. A recording will be made available to registrants.
Registration is $20.
Free registration is available for government, farmers, and members of the Community Composter Coalition (CCC). Government should use the discount code GOV, farmers should use FARMER, K-12 educators and schools should use EDU, and CCC members should use CCC at checkout for free registration.
If you’re a community composter and would like to apply to be a part of the Coalition, learn more and apply today!
This webinar is part three of a three-part series on reducing contamination in composting.
Part one, Tackling Contamination at Composting Sites, took place February 25th, 2025.
Part two, Education & Outreach to Reduce Contamination in Composting, took place April 2nd, 2025
Watch the recordings of our past composting-related webinars.
Photo credit: City of Hutchinson, Minnesota
Mimi Shah is Principal and Co-Founder of Amplify for Change, a firm with over 25 years of experience helping communities design programs and campaigns that drive measurable results.
Over the past decade, Amplify has partnered with dozens of local governments—from highly populated counties like Montgomery County, Maryland, to smaller communities like Red Wing, Minnesota—to advance food scraps collection and reduce contamination in organics programs. Working alongside community partners, Amplify develops and applies tools such as baseline audits, resident surveys, focus groups, and monitoring protocols to identify the root causes of contamination, track progress over time, and design messaging that sticks. Mimi brings a unique blend of field experience and analytical skill—making her a go-to resource for solid waste teams looking to improve program performance through smarter outreach and clearer measurement.
Dr. Fred Michel is professor of Biosystems Engineering at The Ohio State University (OSU) in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He has taught the Ohio Compost Operator Education Course since 2000 and teaches Composting and Compost Utilization at OSU, where he has been a professor for more than 26 years. Fred conducts research in several areas including composting with a focus on understanding and mitigating the impacts of contaminants such as herbicides, plastics and pathogens, and understanding the effects of composts on the microbial ecology of soils and plant growing media. He serves as the editor of Compost Science and Utilization journal, is a board member of the Organics Recycling Association of Ohio, serves on the US Composting Council’s Persistent Herbicide Task Force, is the President of the Wayne County Sustainable Energy Network, and is the Chair of the OSU Wooster Sustainability Committee. He has published more than 100 peer reviewed scientific papers and in 2011 received the Rufus Chaney Award for Research Excellence from the USCC.
Caroline Barry – Program Manager, Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop PartnersCaroline is a Program Manager at Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, the firm’s innovation center for research, analysis and collaboration. She is a project manager for the Composting Consortium and drives initiatives promoting circularity in organics. Caroline supports strategy, project management, storytelling and stakeholder engagement across key areas including infrastructure, innovation, policy and consumer insights. She holds a Master’s in Sustainable Food Systems from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a BA in Communications from Loyola University Maryland.
Brenda Platt – Director, Composting for Community Initiative, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR)Brenda and her team at ILSR are supporting community-scale composters via forums, webinars, podcasts, guides, policies, training, and more. In 2017, the US Composting Council awarded her its H. Clark Gregory Award for outstanding service to the composting industry through grassroots efforts. In 2019, BioCycle magazine featured Brenda as one of its organics recycling trailblazers. She has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The George Washington University.
Photo credit: City of Hutchinson, Minnesota
In this webinar, three food scrap composters share tips and lessons learned about cutting contamination in their finished compost.
In this webinar, three presenters will share tips and lessons learned on how to use outreach and education to avoid contamination in drop-off and curbside...