Recycling Summit Will Focus
On Compost, Community, Carbon

Climate change got you down? Looking for ways to save money? Wondering if your kids are going to have a clean and healthy Earth to live on? Tired of bad news? The second annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit will be held Tuesday, April 1 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the Vermont Technical College gymnasium in Randolph Center.

The topic for this year’s summit is "Compost, Community and the Carbon Cycle" and the keynote speaker will be Malcolm Beck, entrepreneur and author of "The Secret Life of Compost." The summit is organized by the Composting Association of Vermont with funding and staff assistance from the Waste Management Division of the Department of Environmental Conservation.

It has long been recognized that food scraps and other organic materials are valuable resources, yet they are some of the most challenging to divert from the waste stream. 

"We support well-managed on-site composting, both residential and commercial, as one of the most environmentally friendly ways to recycle organics," says Vicky Viens, compost specialist for the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. "There is still a limited understanding of how important these materials are as a renewable source of plant nutrients. Proper management and use of this nutrient rich resource can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions while providing job creation opportunities, and a means to reduce erosion and improve water quality for a cleaner Vermont."

The summit will be an important gathering to hear from experts in the organics recycling industry, and to share information and ideas with government, business, and community leaders. It will also give participants an opportunity to learn more about this underutilized resource, and to explore ways to increase organics recovery in Vermont.

Currently Vermont is only recycling about 7% of the organic materials being disposed of, even though they can make up 30-50% of the waste stream. 

Following the keynote speech and panel discussion, roundtable groups will focus on how to create and implement community nutrient plans, similar to nutrient plans that farms use, as one approach to managing source-separated organics in Vermont.

For more information or registration contact Vicky Viens at vicky.viens@state.vt.us, or by phone at 802-241-3448.

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