The Minnesota Composting Council is looking ahead to 2026, a year full of opportunities to support composting across the state and beyond. This newsletter includes information on the upcoming Statewide Residential Organics Recycling Awareness Campaign and Toolkit, relevant grant applications, 2026 Plate to Garden events, and upcoming webinars. | | The Minnesota Composting Council seeks a Community Partner for its fourth and final Statewide Residential Organics Recycling Awareness campaign. | | |
The Minnesota Composting Council invites Minnesota communities to apply to serve as the community partner in a fourth and final Statewide Residential Organics Recycling Awareness Campaign to promote organics recycling in their area. Current community partners include Carver/Scott counties, Pope/Douglas counties, and Resource Renew, the brand of the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District.
If your community would like to be considered, email the Minnesota Composting Council at compostmn@gmail.com by 4:00 pm, Thursday, February 12. Please provide some background and a link to your current organics program.
Finalists will be notified by the end of February, at which point we will schedule online interviews to exchange additional information. MNCC questions will be supplied in advance.
The final campaign cycle will be split into two, 8-week segments: Fall 2026 and Spring 2027.
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The Minnesota Composting Council’s newly launched website, Love to Compost, is the home to our Residential Organics Recycling Toolkit which contains a variety of free customizable outreach materials to support organics recycling programs.
| | | From the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Apply today for an organics management and composting infrastructure grant! | | |
The MPCA is now accepting applications for grants that will help expand composting infrastructure in Minnesota. This $10 million grant program aims to reduce the amount of food waste and other organic material being landfilled or incinerated by funding new or expanding existing composting infrastructure.
Organic materials make up about 25% of the municipal waste stream in Minnesota; of this, wasted food makes up 18% and compostable paper and packaging is 6%. Diverting organic material from landfilling or incineration represents a significant opportunity to reduce waste and cut greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
The MPCA will hold an online information session on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. to assist applicants through the grant application process. Learn more about this grant program and information session by clicking the link below.
Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 15, 2026.
Entities that serve Minnesota communities are eligible to apply including nonprofit organizations, businesses, educational institutions, counties, cities, towns, and Tribal governments. Examples of eligible projects include a new compost site permitted to accept food waste, expanding capacity at an existing site, or funding food waste collection infrastructure and equipment such as transfer facilities and hauling vehicles.
Please submit questions about this grant to grants.pca@state.mn.us with the subject line “MCSFS Statewide Organics Management Grant question” no later than 4 p.m. CT on Wednesday, April 8, 2026.
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Free composting kits for schools
Let’s Go Compost is offering free indoor worm composting kits to 100 public schools across the U.S. Each kit comes with materials and educational support to help integrate composting into classroom learning. Schools will handle ongoing care and maintenance, making this a hands-on sustainability experience for students. Applications are accepted until spots are filled.
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Schedule Your 2026 Plate to Garden Event
Plate to Garden events are opportunities to raise funds by selling bags of compost while educating the community on organics recycling. The Minnesota Composting Council is currently scheduling Plate to Garden events for 2026. Events occur throughout the growing season, but most take place in late spring and during the summer.
To learn more about what Plate to Garden entails and how to host, visit the Minnesota Composting Council website. To indicate your interest in hosting an event, fill out the form below or email amorrisette@carvercountymn.gov.
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Compost Operations Training Course 2026 - Griffin, GA
Are you looking for the next step to advance as a composting professional? Seeking a competitive edge for a new position? Or wanting to stay on top of the newest and best industry practices to keep your organization going strong?
Attending a Compost Operations Training Course (COTC) is one of the most impactful ways to grow professionally in the composting industry.
For 15 years, the COTC has served as a launchpad for composting careers. Whether your aspirations are geared toward facility management, marketing, equipment, consulting, or regulating, the COTC gives you the tools necessary to excel.
Don't wait; Early Bird pricing ends February 2!
| | | | International Compost Awareness Week - May 3-9, 2026 | | |
International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the composting industry's largest and most comprehensive education initiative. The goal of ICAW is to raise public awareness about the importance of organics recycling and using finished compost. During ICAW, communities, schools, governments and businesses hold events to encourage and celebrate composting - all types of composting – from backyard to large-scale.
ICAW is celebrated nationally and internationally every year during the first full week of May. The Week’s festivities include tours of compost facilities, school gardening programs, compost workshops, lectures by gardening experts, compost giveaway days, and more. Click here to learn more about planning an event.
If you are hosting an event for International Compost Awareness Week, the MNCC would love to help promote it and see your pictures! You can email them to: compostmn@gmail.com.
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| USDA organics board rejects compostable polymers, puts paper on watch | |
Waste Dive - Dive Brief
Published Jan. 14, 2026
Maria Rachal - Senior Editor
While the group is concerned about contamination from synthetic polymers broadly, it's open to evaluating individual substances or narrower use cases such as fruit stickers or collection bags.
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Environmental Specialist (Environmental Initiatives) - Dakota County
This Environmental Specialist position in the Environmental Initiatives Unit of the Environmental Resources Department will be responsible to assist and lead the development, coordination, implementation and evaluation of landfill abatement initiatives, projects and programs. This position will be responsible for working on a variety of initiatives that support the Dakota County Solid Waste Management Plan, with a focus on implementing waste reduction, recycling and organics diversion programs, such as administering the business and multiunit property recycling programs. Click the link above to learn more and apply.
Do you have a job that you would like to include in the next newsletter? Send an email to compostmn@gmail.com.
| | Support Composting in Minnesota | | If you have an article, event, idea, or event you'd like to share, please send your submissions to: Mary Cich at compostmn@gmail.com | | Follow MNCC on Social Media | | |
The Minnesota Composting Council is dedicated to the development, expansion,
and promotion of the composting industry based upon sound science,
principles of sustainability, and economic viability.
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The Minnesota Composting Council is the MN State Chapter of the United States Composting Council. The Minnesota Composting Council received its non-profit status from the State of Minnesota in January 2013. It officially became the State Chapter of the United States Composting Council (USCC) in December 2013. | | | | |
