7th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum & Field Day

In January 2023, ILSR convened the 7th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum & Field Day in Ontario, California, in partnership with the US Composting Council and its annual conference and trade show. The Forum was held Monday, January 23rd, at the Ontario Convention Center. The Field Day was held the next day at the CalPoly Pomona’s Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies. Presentations from the Forum are below, followed by short videos from some of the Field Day stations. Audio recordings of all presentations and panels – coming soon.

For more information on the CCC Forum, check out these links:

CCC2023 FORUM & FIELD DAY EVENT WEBSITE

FEATURE ILSR ARTICLE: Community composters make their mark on industry at national conference

ARTICLE (BioCycle, March 6, 2023): Community Composters Grow Into A Movement

PAST NATIONAL CCC FORUMS

ILSR COMMUNITY COMPOSTER HOMEPAGE

Events featured on this page:
Opening Session: Welcome & Introductions
Concurrent Track 1: Community-Rooted & Volunteer Run Programs
Concurrent Track 2: The Business of Community Composting
Panel: Composting Systems
Closing Plenary Panel: Building a Community of Practice – Next Steps to Cultivate Community Composting
Closing Poem: Marvin Hayes, Baltimore Compost Collective
Field Day at the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies
USCC Panel: Community Composters – An Emerging Sector

Photo & video slideshow (all events):

To view full screen, click the three dots in the lower lefthand corner and then “Enter full screen.”
You may have to click “Next” multiple times to move past slides with videos.

Opening Session: Welcome & Introductions

Our opening plenary featured a recognition of indigenous lands; a welcome from Kourtnii Brown of the California Alliance for Community Composters; a presentation on the growing community composting movement by Clarissa Libertelli, Coordinator, Community Composter Coalition (ILSR), and keynote remarks by Elinor Crescenzi of Food Cycle Collective/ECOFARM Initiative (Pomona, Calif.).

Audio of the session coming in the future. In the meantime, here are links to view the one slide deck.

The Growing Community Composting Movement — Clarissa Libertelli, Community Composter Coalition, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Concurrent Track 1: Community-Rooted & Volunteer Run Programs

Generating Excitement About Community Composting in an Urban, Chronically Marginalized Community — Marvin Hayes & Kenneth Moss, Baltimore Compost Collective

Youth Composting Programs — Nando Rodriguez, The Brotherhood Sister Sol & Open Road of NY (New York, NY)

Download here

Expanding Access to Composting through Community Partnerships — Kyleen Sanchez, Lower East Side Ecology Center (New York City)

California Alliance Launches 120 Community-Led Compost Hubs — Kourtnii Brown, California Alliance for Community Composting

Concurrent Track 2: The Business of Community Composting

Funding & Adapting to Changing Economic Climate — Brittany Forslind, Java’s Compost (Orange, NJ)

Operations & Facility Design for Small-scale Collection & Composting Businesses — Karl Johnson, YES Compost LLC (Belgrade, MT)

Panel: Composting Systems

This panel featured a sampling of community composting systems. Each panelist had only a few minutes to share photos of their system and then we had a 20-minute discussion moderated by James McSweeney, Compost Technical Services and author of the book Community-Scale Composting Systems.  Admittedly, we did not have nearly enough time for this panel. The idea was to set the stage for the following day’s Field Day, which included demonstrations of small systems.

Closing Plenary Panel
Building a Community of Practice: Next Steps to Cultivate Community Composting

This session – moderated by Brenda Platt of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance – featured a panel discussing next steps and strategies for building the movement.

Equipment and vendors showcased at the Field Day:

• Food Cycle Collective – DIY food scrap depot* 
• Food Cycle Collective – DIY flow-through vermicomposting bin by Food Cycle Collective*
• Food Cycle Collective – DIY food scrap bike hauling rig with electric assist*
• Sustainable Generation – solar-powered ASP system
• Midwest Biosystems (MBS) – small tow-behind turner with watering system 
• Frontier – small tow-behind turner (already onsite at the CalPoly Pomona Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies)
• Earthkeeping Green – garden screener (brought by LA Compost)*
• Princess Auto – small rotary screener (brought by LA Compost)*
• MultiScreener – portable electric vibrating screener (brought by LA Compost)*
• Jet Speed Compost – trommel screener (brought by LA Compost)
• Maxwell Vehicles – E-Sprinter Van
• WeRadiate – monitoring equipment
• West Maui Green Cycle – DIY small ASP piles suitable for schools

*Videos explaining equipment available below. Disclaimer: These videos are not professionally filmed.

DIY Electric-Assist Bike Trailer Rig, Food Cycle Collective, Pomona, California – explained by Drew Felix

DIY Food Scrap Drop-off Bin, Food Cycle Collective, Pomona, California – explained by Nate Satrape

USCC Panel
Community Composters – An Emerging Sector

Note: This panel was a part of USCC’s programming and not the Cultivating Community Composting Forum & Field Day.

Thank You to Our Sponsors! We love you!

Your contributions primarily covered our scholarship fund, but also our networking reception, printed agendas/materials, and other direct expenses. The scholarship fund helped us bring 63 community composters to the event – many from underserved urban areas – and cover their travel, lodging, and registration costs.

WeRadiate

AdkAction and Compost for Good