Please note that this conference has been rescheduled from February 10 due to inclement weather. If you were registered for that date and have not requested a refund you will automatically be registered for this date. If you cannot attend and wish to request a refund, please contact Carol Dutill at 215-988-8869 or programreg@pennhort.org.
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Program | Schedule | Tours | Speaker Bios
Program
Compost Matters is a one-day conference that will look at the current state of composting in the Delaware Valley. With a focus on new developments in food-waste composting practices, the forum will bring together innovators, policy makers, and visionaries in the field, examining current barriers to food waste recovery, public policy issues, and successful models from the region and around the state. The conference is geared toward sustainability professionals from local governments, institutions, and businesses; municipal and state officials; and the interested public. Participants will learn about current opportunities for composting food waste and how to include food recovery efforts in their operations. Tours of local composting sites will be offered on Saturday morning, April 10.
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Keynote speaker Will Allen received a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2008 for his efforts to promote sustainable farming in low-income neighborhoods. Allen is CEO of Growing Power, a national nonprofit organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that supports the development of community food systems. Read a BioCycle magazine article on Will Allen.
A food waste recovery infrastructure is beginning to emerge in southeastern Pennsylvania thanks to: |
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- The opening of the Peninsula Compost Group facility in Wilmington, Delaware. According to BioCycle magazine, when operating at full capacity (500 tons per day) the Wilmington Organic Recycling Center “will be one of the largest source-separated organics composting facilities in the U.S.”
- On-farm composting at Two Particular Acres and growing interest among other local farmers. Two Particular Acres was one of the first food waste composting facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania, providing leadership to farm-based composting throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
- Use of in-vessel composting units, including the Moravian Court Earth Tubs. Funded by the PA Department of Environmental Protection and the University of Pennsylvania, the Earth Tub project at Moravian Court is the first and only on-site, in-vessel composting system serving commercial businesses in Pennsylvania.
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Special thanks to our outreach partner, the Sustainable Business Network of Philadelphia,
for its valuable support in promoting this event.
Schedule
April 9, 2010
8:00 – 8:45 Registration
8:45 – 9:00 Welcome
Nancy O’Donnell, PHS and Linda Knapp, ILSR
9:00 – 10:00 Keynote address; Growing Food and Community in the City
Will Allen, Growing Power
10:00 – 10:15 Break
10:15 – 10:45 Food Composting Projects in Pennsylvania
Patti Olenick and Carl Hursh, PA Department of Environmental Protection
10:45 – 11:15 Wilmington Organic Recycling Center: the Region’s Largest Composting Facility
Nelson Widell, Peninsula Compost Group
11:15 – 12:00 From Kitchen to Farm—A Composting Partnership
Ned Foley, Two Particular Acres, and Marvin Dixon, Four Seasons Hotel
12:00 – 12:45 Lunch (provided on site)
12:45 – 1:15 On-Site Commercial Composting
Maurice Sampson II, Niche Recycling, Inc.
1:15 – 1:45 The Journey to Sustainable Landscapes—Let’s go!
Mark Highland, Organic Mechanics Potting Soil
1:45 – 2:00 Break
2:00 – 2:45 Compost Policy Panel Discussion, with audience questions
Mike Giuranna, US Environmental Protection Agency/Region III
Patti Olenick and Carl Hursh, PA Department of Environmental Protection
Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
Moderator: Nora Goldstein, Editor, BioCycle magazine
2:45 – 3:00 Closing remarks
Katherine Gajewski, Director of Sustainability, City of Philadelphia
4:00 – 5:00 Tour of Moravian Court
University of Pennsylvania campus, 34th & Spruce streets
Tours of Composting Facilities
Saturday, April 10
Compost Matters participants can take a free tour of the Wilmington Organic Recycling Center and Two Particular Acres farm on Saturday morning, April 10. Participants will be responsible for providing their own transportation. Pre-registration is required, and sign-up sheets will be available at the Compost Matters registration table.
Speaker Bios
Will Allen
A farmer and community activist, Will Allen is founder and chief executive officer of Growing Power, a national nonprofit organization based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that supports the development of community food systems. With over 50 years experience in farming, marketing and distributing food, Allen shares this knowledge with youth, adults, community groups, immigrants, farmers, and consumers. Known as an innovator and creator of food systems, Allen was awarded a MacArthur “Genius Grant” in 2008 for his efforts to promote sustainable farming in low-income neighborhoods.
Patti Olenick
During her 20 years with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Patti Olenick has been developing a comprehensive compost program that includes backyard compost education initiatives, technical and financial assistance to local governments and private companies, and outreach and education to increase organics recycling. Olenick is certified by the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania and is active on the PROP Organics and Certification committees.
Carl Hursh
Carl Hursh is a composting instructor for the Professional Recyclers of Pennsylvania. As the waste reduction and recycling coordinator for the PA Department of Environmental Protection, he has advanced composting on the home, municipal, institutional, and private-sector fronts and has been active in promoting food waste diversion projects.
Nelson Widell
Co-founder of Peninsula Compost Group, Nelson Widell has over 30 years experience in the composting industry. He is a founding member of the US Composting Council and co-founder of the Bedminster Bioconversion Company. Widell has developed and constructed 12 co-composting facilities in the United States and overseas using the patented Bedminster Bioconversion rotary drum process.
Ned Foley
Ned Foley raises a variety of crops on his small family farm, Two Particular Acres, located in western Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Foley and his wife, Gail, were awarded the first On-Farm Compost Permit issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The farm accepts pre-consumer food waste from nearby restaurants, hospitals, and supermarkets.
Marvin Dixon
Marvin Dixon is director of engineering for the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. Dixon
implemented a composting system for the hotel, reducing landfill waste by 47 percent in three years. Under his management, the hotel installed the city’s first microturbine CHP system (combined heat and power), which captures waste heat for re-use.
Maurice M. Sampson II
Maurice M. Sampson II is a sustainable waste management expert with 40 years experience as a recycling advocate and consultant. As president and CEO of Niche Recycling, Inc., Sampson oversaw installation of the region's first, on-site, in-vessel composting unit, the "Earth Tub" to service food waste from several West Philadelphia restaurants including the White Dog Café. Sampson also serves as chair for the RecycleNOW Philadelphia Campaign.
Mark Highland
Mark Highland served as compost and soil specialist at Longwood Gardens before starting the Organic Mechanics Soil Company, LLC. He frequently lectures at public gardens, conferences, and private events. Highland is a consultant for the EPA, helping farms compost food waste to reduce the amount of organic materials entering landfills in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Mike Giuranna
Mike Giuranna is a solid waste specialist with EPA's Region III Office (which encompasses Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia). Through the Mid-Atlantic Consortium of Recycling and Economic Development Officials (MACREDO), he works to develop markets for recyclables, promote the composting of food waste, and improve the composting infrastructure in the Mid Atlantic region.
Katherine Gajewski
As director of sustainability for the City of Philadelphia, Katherine Gajewski is responsible for implementing Greenworks Philadelphia, the city’s comprehensive sustainability plan. Grajewski has served as an advisor to the Nutter Administration on a wide range of policy issues, with a focus on sustainability. She was campaign coordinator for the Breathe Free Philadelphia Alliance, which led the successful campaign to pass smoke-free legislation in Philadelphia.
Nora Goldstein
Nora Goldstein is editor of BioCycle, a magazine that promotes composting, organics recycling, and renewable energy, published by JG Press, Inc. Goldstein has authored numerous articles on composting and organics recycling and has served on many solid waste and biosolids recycling advisory committees. She oversees and works on BioCycle national surveys, including the “State of Garbage in America” and the “Food Composting Infrastructure in the U.S.”
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