Raleigh, NC | sboxman@erefdn.org

Suzie Boxman is the Director of Programs at the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF), which directs and funds scientific research that advances sustainable waste management practices. Prior to her role at EREF she worked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sustainable Materials Management and the America Recycles efforts. Suzie completed a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida.

Session Code: B2

Track: Policy

Session Name: National Policy Work; PFAS Updates

Session Time: Wednesday, Jan 25, 1:45 to 3:15 PM

Presentation Title: State of Practice of U.S. Composting: Introducing the 2022 National Composting Facility Survey

Presentation Description: As policies and collection programs for the collection, diversion, and composting of organic waste become more widespread in the United States, it is important to have accurate information regarding the amount and types of organic waste generated as well as the infrastructure available for managing these materials. The extent to which state and federal agencies track and report composted organic wastes varies, which presents challenges in aggregating nationwide statistics on organics recovery infrastructure, program availability, participation, and processed tonnage. This lack of information makes it difficult to understand how much organic material can realistically be diverted relative to available infrastructure, whether or not curbside collection programs for organics can be successful, and how feedstock type may impact available operations. To collect more detailed and comprehensive data on composting infrastructure and operations, the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF), in collaboration with the U.S. Composting Council (USCC) and the Desert Research Institute (DRI), designed and fielded a national survey of composting facilities. The survey contained in-depth questions on facility types, facility capacity and production, feedstock types and sources, contamination, operations, tipping fees, end-markets, and policies. Analysis of the survey results will provide information on trends for these topics by region, facility type and size, and feedstock type. Additional analysis will also investigate facilities’ perceptions of market conditions and factors which are most relevant to their ability to continue operations (legislation, regulation, labor, contamination, etc.).