Bobbie Armstrong is a cleantech entrepreneur who has spent the last decade scaling and commercializing greenhouse gas solutions.

She spent her early career focused on food waste diversion practices in Canada and the United States and has a successful track record of identifying waste streams and turning them into feedstocks for commercial and industrial processes.

Armstrong has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University at Buffalo and a joint Master’s Degree in US Canadian Studies from Brock University and the University at Buffalo. While completing her master’s program she interned at the US Composting Council, and throughout her career she has served as technical expert on several working groups including the Expert Advisory Group for Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) Oil and Gas Guidance Document and Technical Expert for Canada’s Landfill Methane Recovery and Destruction Offset Protocol.

When she isn’t busy reimaging our waste systems, Armstrong enjoys spending time in nature with her young family.

Session Code: 1D

Track: Marketing and Use

Session Name: Compost Marketing

Session Time: Wednesday, February 7, 8:15 – 9:45 AM

Presentation Title: Building the Value of Compost Through Branding, Education, and Sustainable Packaging in Buffalo, NY

Presentation Description: Founded in 2017 by biologist and nature enthusiast Brian Murphy, Buffalo River Compost prides itself in being a longstanding member of the USCC’s STA program. Over the last 6 years, the compost site has matured into a large compost facility, producing ~5,000 cubic yards of premium STA Approved compost annually.

Traditionally Buffalo River Compost sold material in bulk to DOT projects and remediation projects, but as our production capacity increased we worked to increase our sales outlets to include:

– Developing a consumer facing brand, Tend, to increase retail sales
– Marketing our partnership with the Buffalo Zoo
– Developing a filter sock partnership
– Developing partnerships with sustainable development initiatives such as pollinator and native planting efforts

As a commitment to sustainability our team also developed a sustainable packaging strategy and partnered with plastic recyclers to ensure minimum recycled content in our 1 cubic foot packaging.

Today, Buffalo River Compost and its consumer facing brand Tend are a well-recognized brand in Western New York, with several established garden center partners and a regular channel of bulk customers. We have successfully increased the value of our material and continue to educate the community on the value and importance of compost.