Rancho Cucamonga, CA | jziegenb@ieua.org

Jeff Ziegenbein is the Regional Organics Manager for the Inland Empire Utilities Agency. He is the site manager of the largest indoor compost facility in North America, the Inland Empire Regional Compost Authority (IERCA). IERCA has been in compliance with the most strict Air Pollution Control regulations in the United States, the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Jeff as advanced degrees in Public Administration and has been engaged in compost operation management for most of his professional career.

Session Code: D5 (&E5)

Track: California (with Use track)

Session Name: Compost Market Dynamics in California

Session Time: Thursday, Jan 26, 11:00 – 12:30 PM

Presentation Title: How is Compost the Solution for SB 1383 and much more?

Presentation Summary: For over 20 years, a Southern California water and wastewater treatment agency, serving seven cities in the Chino Basin, of San Bernardino County with local compost production and use.  Inland Empire Utilities Agencies has designed, built, commissioned, and operated the largest indoor compost facility in North America. It produces about 200,000 cubic yards of compost per year.  Located in Rancho Cucamonga, the operator of this facility is the Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority (IERCA).  IERCA has become a leader in the compost production and marketing industry in Southern California producing SoilPro branded compost.  As such, this facility is applying its extensive technical expertise to help lead SoCal in implementing SB 1383, Article 12 – Procurement.
 
As a founding member of the Association of Compost Producers, HealthySoil.org, USCC California State Chapter, IERCA is a SoCal leader of STA Certified Compost production and marketing.  However, SB 1383 Procurement regulations present new marketing challenges to processors. With its SoilPro compost markets being 75% landscapes and 25% agriculture, IERCA has not had to work directly through its local cities to help them understand and account for their recycled organics prior to the implementation of SB 1383.
 
Bringing all cities and counties, i.e. California solid waste jurisdictions, into helping grow the healthy soil-building compost economy, is now the new challenge of SB 1383 implementation.  It requires that citizens and their municipal leaders understand why compost is important, who is using it, and how it addresses multiple water use, and carbon emissions issues, among others, for compost manufactured from their organic residuals.  SB 1383 offers composters, IERCA being a prime example, the opportunity to inform the cities how all of these products and practices benefit them are their citizens.