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Pre-Conference Training & Workshops
Learn from the experts!
All full-day workshops (or two half-day workshops) include lunch.
Protecting Workers: Conducting Job Hazard Analysis For Composting Facilities
As employees become more experienced, their plant safety walkarounds and evaluations can become less thorough – people have seen the same workplace so often that they don’t really “see” it anymore. They can overlook hazards and risks because of their familiarity; yet their knowledge and experience is a valuable and decided advantage for doing workplace assessments. Job hazard analysis could be made a more effective workplace evaluation tool by making sure that a wide range of potential hazards have been explored in a structured way so as to reduce the possibility of overlooking the familiar. While evaluating job hazards and potential solutions, exposures can be evaluated for persons with religious or cultural concerns or for those who might be at greater risk due to genetic predisposition or disability so that their issues can be addressed, as well. Adding concerns about diversity and disability enables scientific information to overcome any stereotypical assumptions about certain conditions or work activities so that real risk can be separated from perceptions, myths, and fears.
8:00 AM-12:00 PM | members: $145 | non-members: $195 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Nellie J. Brown, MS, CIH, is the Director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs for Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She serves on a Cornell University Project Work Team on Composting and Land Application of Sewage Sludge. She is the author of "Composting Safety and Health" in: Rynk, R. et al. (Eds) (tentative 2011). On-Farm Composting Handbook. NRAES Cooperative Extension. Ithaca, NY
**NEW** Challenges and Solutions for a Successful Food Waste Recycling Program
This workshop will address the numerous challenges generators, haulers and compost facilities face when participating and implementing a comprehensive food waste recycling program. Issues will include, "When is the volume too small", How much food waste is generated by different industries", "Will a waste audit be necessary", "How does this program change the work culture in a facility", "How many accounts justify a route", "What type of collection will be required, Toter or Compactor", "To liner or not to liner, that is the question", What type of vehicle is required", "How to develop a generator compliance and monitoring program", "How much contamination is too much", Accepting biodegradable material, Pro's and Con's", "Is pre and post consumer food waste permitted", What are the issues in accepting post consumer food waste", "What factors are involved in developing a tip fee".
All participants should be prepared and are welcome to offer their insight and experiences so we can have a well rounded conversation and arrive at good solid solutions to walk away with.
8:00 AM-12:00 PM | members: $145 | non-members: $195 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Michael Manna, Managing Director of Organic Recycling Solutions, LLC. Specializing in the development of organic waste diversion programs, recycling project solutions and resource development.
USCC Foundations of Compost Training Course
The course will provide a solid understanding of the foundations of composting for operators, managers and regulators. The course will train new composters on the basic principles and techniques of composting and will reacquaint veteran composters with the underlying fundamentals of their profession.
8:30 AM-4:30 PM | members: $195 | non-members: $245 | max. of 60 attendees
Instructors
Dr. Robert Rynk is an environmental and agricultural engineer. He is the editor of the "On-Farm Composting Handbook", and a faculty member with the State University of New York at Cobleskill.
Matthew Cotton, Integrated Waste Management Consulting, LLC. Matt teaches SWANA's Manager of Composting Programs Course and has over 20 years experience in composting.
Composting Business Management
This program will be of benefit to both newcomers and experienced composters. The seminar covers the business management aspects of developing and running a compost business. Topics to be covered will include: the basics of business management, developing a new composting business, business expansion and growth, and exiting a business, among other topics.
8:30 AM-4:30 PM | members: $195 | non-members: $245 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Craig Coker is a Principal in the firm Coker Composting & Consulting, and is an experienced composter and small business owner. He is the author of "Composting Enterprise Management" in: Rynk, R. et al. (Eds). On-Farm Composting Handbook, 2nd Ed., (tentative 2011), NRAES Cooperative Extension. Ithaca, NY, and is authoring a new book, Composting Business Management, to be published in 2010. He has taught seminars in compost business management in North Carolina and in Georgia.
Tom Spiggle is a Principal of the Law Offices of J. Thomas Spiggle, Esq. Tom Spiggle is an attorney who has worked in a number of governmental positions and private law firms since graduating with honors from Georgetown University Law Center in 2001.
Andrew Kessler is a Managing Director and Founding Member of Turning Earth, LLC. Prior to launching Turning Earth, Mr. Kessler spent 15 years as an investment banker holding various senior positions as a Corporate Finance and Mergers & Acquisitions professional at various firms including HSBC, Waller Capital, Morgan Stanley and Duff & Phelps.
Compost Benefits and Usage in Vineyards: Growing Better Grapes, Recipes, Compost Applications and Compost Production
Concepts, practices and "how to's" of high quality compost production and use for winegrape vineyards will be discussed. The course will provide a foundation for compost operators, vineyard managers and viticulturists on the underlying scientific principles of producing and using high quality compost from recycled organic matter from the vineyard and winery. The course will provide composters with in depth training in making high quality, need specific, composts for vines. The information presented will help viticulturists to understand the principles of composting recycled winery materials, refining high quality compost and the best uses of compost to benefit soil health and wine quality.
8:30 AM-4:30 PM | members: $195 | non-members: $245 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Bob Shaffer, Soil Culture Consulting, Glen Ellen, CA. Bob is a consulting agronomist for temperate and sub-tropical farming systems and specializing in organic, wholistic farm management. He is the instructor for cover crops for vineyards class at Napa Valley College and has 35 years composting and farming experience.
How to Use Compost: Fruit, Vegetables, Ornamentals, Golf Courses, Landscaping, Forestry, Diseases Suppression and Organic Agriculture
Appropriate compost utilization for agriculture, horticultural and landscape products must ensure a proper balance between organic applied nutrients and the nutrients needs of the particular crop being produce, and must consider potentially harmful effects such as plant phytotoxicity and or presence of heavy metals. Attendees will learn compost use for specific crops based on composting principles and promote the improvement of soil physical, chemical and biological properties by the correct use of composts.
8:30 AM-4:30 PM | members: $195 | non-members: $245 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Dr. Monica Ozores-Hampton, has more than a decade of experience researching compost production and utilization, Dr. Don Rockwood and Dr. Ronald French-Monar, University of Florida/SWFREC
Compost Sales and Marketing Workshop
Provides training for compost sales and marketing staff on the basics of compost marketing and sales. The workshop provides marketing insight and sales techniques for new, as well as veteran, compost sales staff. Subjects will include: understanding the product (and how it fits into a marketing strategy), best practices in compost marketing, marketing plan components, general sales principles and requirements, staffing, sales approaching to the major compost markets, devising sales ‘pitches’, completing the ‘sales call’, dealing with objections, and more...
9:00 AM-3:00 PM | members: $195 | non-members: $245 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Ron Alexander, an American horticulturist and veteran compost salesman and sales/marketing manager with over 25 years of experience in compost marketing and end use. Author of the ‘Practical Guide to Compost Marketing & Sales’.
Aerated Static Pile Composting: Applications and Advancements
This course is for experienced composters who would like to expand beyond the basics of leaf and yard waste composting into food residuals, manures and other challenging materials. Participants will learn the differences among various systems, how to determine fan size and piping, and what kind of environmental protection and permitting is needed.
Many example aerated compost systems will be discussed, ranging in size from 2.5 to 25,000 cubic yards and processing all varieties of organic by-products from municipal, institutional and agricultural sources. This workshop includes group exercises, useful planning tools, and an open format to explore student's specific needs.
9:00 AM-3:00 PM | members: $195 | non-members: $245 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Peter Moon, PE, O2 Compost, has 25 years of experience in setting up compost facilities to process organic waste with aeration and to keep this process simple, systematic and affordable.
Management of Odor Issues at Compost Facilities
This workshop will provide information and discuss odor management for various handling systems and control technologies for composting. Methods of odor assessment will be presented. Odor modeling and its value will be discussed. There have been several studies concerning odor as a potential public health issue. As a result there have been several legal actions against operators. This aspect will also be discussed.
1:00 PM-5:00 PM | members: $145 | non-members: $195 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Jeff Gage, Compost Design Services, Olympia, WA, is considered one of the Northwest’s top composting experts. Jeff combines years of practical experience in operating compost systems with extensive scientific expertise focused on the improvement, development, and advancement of the practice of composting. He consults with compost operations to improve the many variables that may contribute to their total odor impact.
**NEW** When Bad Things Happen at Your Composting Facility – Imagining What Can Go Wrong and How You Can Recover
Crises, such as natural disasters, injuries, process failures, odor problems, lawsuits, perceptions by neighbors, financial problems, to name a few examples, may affect the viability of a composting operation -- demonstrating the need to think strategically about a composting facility’s vulnerability to crises. Facility managers have responsibility for assessing risks so that they can prevent crises or lessen their impact. Vulnerability analysis takes the broadest view of your workplace by helping you to identify the wide range of potential crises or disasters your workplace could encounter. In today’s world, it is no longer a question of whether a crisis will happen at your workplace, but rather when, which type, and how it will occur. By performing a crisis audit, a composting facility can begin exploring the range of crises to which it may be vulnerable. The results of the audit can then be used to envision potential crisis scenarios for each type of crisis family. The process of developing plans for recovery and business/operation continuity can then be conducted for at least one crisis scenario in each type of crisis family, paying particular attention to any potential recovery tasks which can be performed in advance. Good crisis planning can turn a critical incident into a non-event.
1:00 PM-5:00 PM | members: $145 | non-members: $195 | max. of 40 attendees
Instructors
Nellie J. Brown, MS, CIH, is the Director of Workplace Health and Safety Programs for Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She serves on a Cornell University Project Work Team on Composting and Land Application of Sewage Sludge. She is the author of "Composting Safety and Health" in: Rynk, R. et al. (Eds) (tentative 2011). On-Farm Composting Handbook. NRAES Cooperative Extension. Ithaca, NY