Tuesday, March 5, 2019

March 14: Compost Conference

Charlestown's Earth Care Farms will be a major presentor
Environment Council of Rhode IslandGreg Gerritt  Coordinator  The Compost Initiative


Related image
Charlestown's Jayne Merner Senecal  of
Earthcare Farm
 will be a speaker
The 2019 Rhode Island Compost Conference and Trade Show will be held on Thursday March 14  from 8:30 AM to 3 PM in the Donovan Dining center at Rhode Island College.  

Organized by the Environment Council of Rhode Island and the Office of Sustainability at Rhode Island College, it is the yearly gathering of the compost industry in Rhode Island.  

This year to celebrate the 10th conference the Morning Plenary will include 5 short talks by people who have been involved in the compost industry and the conferences for most of the last 10 Years. 

What is most different about the compost industry from 10 years ago, is that the past 2 years has seen a stream of new businesses in the compost industry and a massive movement to remove food scrap from the waste stream, now that the infrastructure to do it has begun to develop. 

Many of the new businesses in the industry will be exhibiting and speaking at the conference, that in addition to workshops features a mid-day trade show. 


Schools are the next compost frontier, and the day will conclude with a panel organized by Foodscape on compost and RI schools.

The entire lineup for the day is included below.  People can register at the Environment Council of Rhode Island Website https://www.environmentcouncilri.org/2019-compost-conference-trade-show  and walk ins will be welcome the day of the conference.

The lineup for the 2019 RI Compost Conference:  

9 AM   The morning  plenary will celebrate 10 years of Compost conferences with 5 people who have been involved in the RI Compost Scene for most of the last 10 years discussing the changes they have seen
James Murphy   RIC Office of Sustainability
Terry Gray   RIDEM
Jayne Merner Senecal  Earthcare Farm
Tim Faulkner    ecoRI news
Michael Bradlee  The Compost Depot at Frye Gardens

Morning Workshops

Session 1  10 AM
Rhodeside Revival LLC. Rhode Island's local curbside composting program
Conor McManus, Miguel Costa Rhodeside Revival
Alternative uses of Compost in Stormwater Management and Green infrastructure   
Jack Eaton   Filtrexx Northeast Systems
How a community composts : one example from the front lines of local composting   
Michael Bradlee  The Compost Depot at Frey Gardens
Existing and emerging infrastructure for food waste - a regional perspective  
Coryanne Mansell    Center for EcoTechnology

Session 2  11 AM
The Role of the Composter: Waste Managers or Land Stewards?   
Jayne Merner Senecal   Earth Care Farm
Progress in collecting compostables in dense RI neighborhoods  
Leo Pollock  The Compost Plant  David McLaughlin  Clean Ocean Access
                   Katie Murphy  Groundwork RI   Nellie de Goguel City of Providence
Rethinking Sanitation: Composting toilet basics   
Conor Lally   Nutrient Networks
Prince George’s County (PGC), MD compost project    
Greg McCarron, William Conrad  SCS Engineers

There will be a trade show in the middle of the day
Exhibitors already committed to attend include:

Biobags America
Bootstrap Compost
Center for EcoTechnology
Filtrexx Northeast/EJ Prescott
Groundwork RI
Listening Tree Coop
Nutrient Networks
Rhodeside Revival
RI Department of Environmental Management
RI Resource Recovery Corporation

Afternoon Plenary  1:30 PM to 3
Composting at Rhode Island Schools
Diane Calvin Foodscape     Moderator
Panelists  Tim Faulkner Miguel Costa