On January 23rd and January 24th, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and BioCycle hosted the Cultivating Community Composting Workshop and Forum. [See notes from the workshop and forum]
These events brought together community composters in order to network, share best practices, and build support for community-scale composting systems and enterprises. The Cultivating Community Composting Forum 2017 was the fourth national forum sponsored by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and BioCycle.
Below, you’ll find the presentations that the speakers brought with them to the events.
Thank you again to our sponsors!
Best Practices in Community Composting Workshop
Monday, January 23rd, 2017 • Los Angeles, California
8:30AM TO 4:30PM
Agenda available here for download
Welcome & Who’s Here
Part 1: Key Ingredients of Community Composting
David Paull, Compostwheels, Atlanta
Dustin Fedako, Compost Pedallers, Austin
Guy Schaffer, BK ROT, New York City
Part 2: Small-Scale Composting Systems/Processing BMPs
Moderator: Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Composting in an Urban Setting at Howard University Garden, Jeffrey Neal, Howard University Community Garden Compost Manager, Washington D.C.
Small-Scale Systems & Technologies, Jean Bonhotal, Cornell Waste Management Institute, Ithaca, N.Y.
Establishing Best Management Practices for Community Compost Sites, Renee Crowley, NYC Compost Project hosted by Lower East Side Ecology Center Project Manager, New York City
Part 3: Hauling, Bike, & Other Logistics
Moderator: Dan Matsch, Eco-Cycle, Boulder
Composting Logistics: Material, information, and Money, Michael Robinson, Rust Belt Riders, Cleveland
Hauling Logistics & Service Design, Justin Senkbell, CompostNow, Raleigh, N.C.
The Unique Challenges and Opportunities of Bike Hauling, Kathryn Nigro, Tilthy Rich, Durham, N.C.
Part 4: The Business of Community Composting
Moderator: Kyle Isaacksen, Reno Rot Riders, Reno
Dustin Fedako, Compost Pedallers, Austin
Jennifer Mastalerz, Philly Compost, Philadelphia
Mary Ryther, Compost With Me, Falmouth, Mass.
Part 5: Community Engagement & Building Community Power via Community Composting
Moderator: Linda Bilsens, Institute for Local Self-Reliance Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders, Washington D.C.
Panelists:
- Michael Martinez, LA Compost, Los Angeles
- Corinne Coe, Terra Nova Compost, Atlanta
- Renee Wallace, Food Plus Detroit, Detroit
- Sophia Hosain, Real Food Farm – Civic Works, Baltimore
- Valerie Onifade, Howard University Community Garden, Washington D.C.
- Amy Freeman, Edible Flint & Flint Women in Ag Farm Development Center, Flint, Mich.
- Lor Holmes, CERO, Boston
Agenda available here for download
4th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum
Tuesday, January 24th, 2017 • Los Angeles, California
Agenda available here for download
Part 1: Cultivating Community Composting Forum
Community Composting – Distributed, Diverse, and Growing
Forum Keynote: Empowering Neighborhoods Through Compost, Michael Martinez, LA Compost
Panel: Community Composters Drive Local Programs
This panel will showcase how community composters bring public attention to composting and the potential partnerships. Commercial scale composters and haulers – along with local government – will learn the benefit of these programs and how to support/partner with community-based efforts.
Sustaining Business through Collaboration, Jennifer Mastalerz, Philly Compost and Tim Bennett, Bennet Compost, Philadelphia
Connecting Composting to Creating Jobs in Marginalized Communities, Atlanta. David Paull, Compost Wheels, Atlanta
Part 2: Cultivating Community Composting Forum
Panel Discussion: Supporting a Distributed Composting Infrastructure – Dollars and Rules
This panel will address the importance of local and state financing and policies to the development of a diverse and distributed composting infrastructure that includes community scale operations. How can state agencies such as CalRecycle’s create funding incentives to support community composters? How can local government revisit districting rules to allow for community composters to compete? What local governments are already financing and supporting community scale composting?
Moderator: Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington D.C.
Bridget Anderson, Deputy Commissioner for Recycling and Sustainability NYC Department of Sanitation, New York City
Michael Martinez, LA Compost, Los Angeles
Christina Oatfield, Sustainable Economies Law Center, Oakland, Calif.
Kyle Pogue, CalRecycle, Sacramento
Chris Hunt, ReFED (formerly of Grace Communications Foundation), Healdsburg, Calif.
Agenda available here for download
WHAT IS COMMUNITY COMPOSTING?
Community composting is the radical idea that compost is used within the same community where the material is generated and that the community participates in some way. Community composters keep the feedstocks, process and product as local as possible while engaging the community through participation and education. Projects range from urban to rural and include small enterprises, demonstration/training sites, schools, universities, pedal-powered collection systems, worker-owned cooperatives, community gardens and farms.
For more information on community composting, download our report:
Growing Local Fertility: A Guide to Community Composting
