Minnesota Composting Council Newsletter - June 2026 | |
Get the Dirt on Organics Recycling!
Hear from composting professionals around Minnesota at MNCC’s summer virtual networking event on Tuesday, July 21, from 11 a.m. - noon, featuring a presentation from Dori Decker, Sustainability Specialist at Resource Renew.
Dori will highlight Resource Renew’s past and present organics recycling projects, including the launch of multifamily organics recycling programs in the Duluth area. Participants will also have the opportunity to share updates on their organization's work and learn from others.
This event is free and open to all.
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The Minnesota Composting Council is pleased to honor the life and legacy of Kevin Tritz by managing the Kevin Tritz Memorial Fund. Join us on August 18th for the annual Golf Tournament fundraiser supporting Minnesota's composting industry.
Funds donated to the Kevin Tritz Memorial Fund are dedicated to research that brings sound science to the composting industry and to education that furthers the public's understanding of the positive environmental impacts of using compost. Learn more about the fund.
Contact Mary Cich at (612) 807-5267 or mary.cich@mncompostingcouncil.org with questions about the tournament or to discuss available sponsorships. To donate to the fund directly, click here.
You don’t have to be a golfer to join the fun. Come network with reps and supporters from the composting industry
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Above are samples of the materials developed for Carver County's recent residential organics outreach campaigns, including a postcard, kitchen pail bin labels, and a tri-fold brochure. These customizable templates for these items, open-source photo and video libraries, and other useful documents are free to use and adapt to your own program. To access, go to lovetocompost.com. Click the Toolkit button at the top right.
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View the toolkit here
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Small scraps, big difference: the Residential Organics Outreach Toolkit in action
The MNCC has just entered the final year of our Residential Organics Outreach Grant. To date, we have completed Small Scrap, Big Difference campaigns in Pope/Douglas, Carver, and Scott Counties, completed the first of two Small Scrap, Big Difference campaigns with Resource Renew in Duluth, and selected the final campaign recipient: a 6-County Partnership, which includes Polk, Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Mahnomen, and Norman.
During this final year of this grant, the MNCC will complete the final campaigns with Resource Renew and Polk 6-County Partnership, while continuing to build out the Toolkit Content.
If you have any suggestions for additional Toolkit content, please email Mary Cich.
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US Composting Council Launches National Benchmark Survey on Compost Use in Transportation Projects
The Compost Use in Transportation Projects Benchmark Survey will gather insights from state Departments of Transportation (DOTs), public works agencies, engineers, consultants, and transportation professionals to better understand current practices, barriers to adoption, and opportunities for expanding the use of compost-based best management practices (BMPs).
The survey takes approximately
3 minutes to complete.
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Legislative Update from the US Composting Council: Take Action - Support HR 2145
How will the STEWARD Act and HR 2145 support composting?
- Infrastructure Inventory
- Standardized Rates
- Best Practices
- Appropriations: Authorizes $30 million in annual funding from 2027 through 2031.
USCC has been calling for legislation of this type since 2018! Help us encourage the House of Representatives to act upon HR2145. With just a few clicks, you can send a letter directly to your representative requesting that they consider HR2145 and pass it in the House. The process takes only a few minutes!
Contact your Representative using the Compost Action Center.
See Senate changes from House version in article below.
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Opportunities to submit conference presentation proposals
Call for Proposals for 2027 Minnesota Organic Conference
Submit your ideas now until June 29
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture invites farmers, educators, researchers, and advocates to submit session proposals and speaker suggestions for the 2027 Minnesota Organic Conference, set for January 7-8, 2027, at the River’s Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud, MN. Submit proposals here.
Pitch a Presentation - COMPOST 2027
The US Compost Council (USCC) is seeking presentation proposals for its upcoming annual conference, “COMPOST 2027” taking place in Jacksonville, Florida. The deadline to submit is July 10, 2026. Submit proposals here.
| | Climate Smart Food Systems Grant Funding Available | | |
Industrial innovation in food systems - implementation
The MPCA is soliciting proposals to distribute $40 million in grant funding to support industrial food and beverage manufacturers and food system organic waste processors across Minnesota.
Funding is intended to execute capital expenditure (capex) projects at facilities that will improve operational efficiency, reduce operating costs, and lessen environmental impacts by reducing greenhouse emissions, criteria air pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, and/or waste.
Applications due April 1, 2028 at 5 p.m.
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Industrial innovation in food systems - technical assistance and planning (TAP)
The MPCA is soliciting proposals to distribute $7.2 million in grant funding for technical assistance and planning services to food and beverage manufacturers and organic waste processors across Minnesota.
Funding is designed to identify and evaluate facility-specific efficiency projects and decarbonization efforts that will, if implemented, enable the grantee to improve operational efficiency and reduce operating costs while lessening environmental impacts through reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, criteria air pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, and/or waste.
Applications due June 21, 2028 at 5 p.m.
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Your Composting Questions, Answered: An interactive Q&A with leading organics recycling professionals -
July 22nd from 1 - 2 p.m. ET
Join the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s next virtual event “Get the Dirt: Live Composing Expert Panel.” This ask-me-anything style webinar will bring together four composting veterans – Nora Goldstein, Jeff Gage, Susan Fife-Ferris, and Brenda Platt – to answer attendees' most burning composting questions.
Register here
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MN Zero Waste Fest - July 16th 3 - 7pm - Como Midway Picnic Pavilion (1199 Midway Pkwy, Saint Paul MN 55103)
The 2026 Minnesota Zero Waste Fest is a free community gathering that brings together residents, advocates, artists, and organizations from across the state to celebrate and advance real solutions that move Minnesota toward a zero waste future. Attendees can expect music, tabling from organizations across the zero waste movement, educational opportunities, a community dinner, and more.
RSVP here
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Senate releases farm bill draft omitting some food waste provisions
By Jacob Wallace
Published June 24, 2026 - Waste Dive
Some key components:
- The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture released its draft of the farm bill on Tuesday. The long-awaited bill, which funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture for five years, includes provisions considered beneficial to organics recycling.
- The bill would make permanent community compost funding programs run by the USDA’s Office of Urban Agriculture.
- The House also proposed making composting a conservation practice, while the Senate version would not. That designation, which was included in a last-minute amendment, is a longtime priority of the composting industry. It would allow more farmers to get reimbursed by the federal government if they use compost as part of a conservation plan, according to the U.S. Composting Council.
Read the rest of the article here
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MPCA Grant Helps Hubbard County, MN Keep Over 1,500 Tons of Organic Waste from Going to Landfills
June 12, 2026 - Waste Advantage
| Hubbard County recently introduced a new service not previously available in the region. As part of an MPCA grant it received in fall of 2024 to support organics management initiatives, the county has acquired a side-load truck specifically designed for organics collection. This equipment will enable Hubbard County, in partnership with neighboring Beltrami County, to collect commercial food waste and transport it to Polk County for composting. | | |
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Vanguard Renewables Breaks Ground on Renewable Natural Gas and Organics Recycling Facility in Minnesota
June 8, 2026 - Waste Advantage
Vanguard Renewables celebrated the groundbreaking of its newest anaerobic digestion facility in Litchfield, Minnesota, marking the continued expansion of the company’s footprint in the Midwest.
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City of Edina Receives Grant for Two Organics Drop Sites
Edina, Minn., June 5, 2026
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced in May that the City of Edina will receive a $54,600 grant to expand its organics recycling program for multi-family residents. The grant will be used to add two drop-off sites near multifamily buildings by adding up to 10 carts and weekly hauling services for each site. It will also encourage increased usage of the five existing drop-off sites through targeted recruitment and outreach. The grant will fund additional six-month pilot programs and recycling refresher trainings.
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MNCC Members, would you like to be featured in an upcoming newsletter?
There will soon be a new section of the MNCC's monthly newsletters, member spotlights! This is a great opportunity to spread the word about the work your organization does in the composting industry, spark conversation, and strengthen your networks. Fill out the form below, tell us a bit about the work you do, and we'll feature you in an upcoming edition!
| | | | Support Composting in Minnesota | | Follow MNCC on Social Media | | If you have an article, event, idea, or event you'd like to share, please send your submissions to: Addie Morrisette at amorrisette@carvercountymn.gov. | | |
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. | | | | |
