Transcript ACP presentation - Association of Compost Producers

California Integrated Waste Management Board
The Compost Solution
Workshop
Agricultural Compost
Specifications
February 28, 2007
Ronald Lew
www.ciwmb.ca.gov
California Integrated Waste Management Board
What is the Project?
 Improve and expand compost use in agriculture by
providing reliable scientifically-derived information on
suitable compost properties to California growers
 Develop comprehensive agricultural compost specifications
 Develop Compost Use Index that incorporates information
from the new specifications to allow growers make correct
compost choices or their designated crop
 Introduce the newly developed specifications to ag.
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community through workshops, brochures, and educational
materials
California Integrated Waste Management Board
A Partnership Between CIWMB,
Agricultural Community, CDFA, UCR
Extension, and the Compost Industry
CIWMB
Funding and Oversight
UC Extension
Riverside
Contractor
(Project Management)
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ACP
Ag. Community
Client
Association of
Compost Producers
(Technical Support)
CDFA
(Advisory Role)
California Integrated Waste Management Board
Compost and Agriculture:
10% of all compost sold goes to Agriculture (Compost
Infrastructure Survey, 2003)
Agriculture has ability to use much more compost
Compost has many benefits to growers
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California Integrated Waste Management Board
Compost and Mulch Benefits the
Agriculture in a Number of Ways
 Supplies macro- and micronutrients
 Supplies beneficial microorganism
 Suppresses certain soil-borne diseases
 Binds and degrades specific pollutants
 Improves soil tilth
 Water holding capacity
 Drainage potential
 Reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides
 Encourages slow release of nitrogen
 Improves drought tolerance
 Improves plant health and vigor
5 Increases biodiversity

California Integrated Waste Management Board
Why Isn’t Agriculture Using More
Compost?
 Cost vs. perceived benefits
 Product quality
 Lack of compost specifications
 Education
End Result:
Incorrect
choices of compost for designated use
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California Integrated Waste Management Board
Barriers to Effective Compost
Specifications
1) Tendency to bog down in discussion of regulatory
standards
2) Tendency to produce generic compost primarily for the
purpose of recycling waste material, rather than tailoring
production to specific uses and customers
3) Tendency for research laboratories to focus on how
compost performs rather than the physical-chemical
characteristics of that compost
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continued….
California Integrated Waste Management Board
Barriers to Effective Compost
Specifications
continued…..
4) Historically limited quality control in the field (users not always
having affordable and portable instrumentation to verify product
quality
5) Disagreement about what to include or exclude in specifications,
especially for marketing purposes
6) Underlying basic differences among various professional disciplines
about “what is good compost”
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California Integrated Waste Management Board
Idealized Compost Specifications:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
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Grade or category designations
Appropriate end-use and limitations
Feedstock ingredients
Process descriptions including cure times
Contamination limits, including regulatory standards
Physical-chemical characteristics e.g. pH
Performance characteristics
Adjusting for local conditions (soil, etc.)
References (literature, web sites, etc.)
Vendor notes (delivery, spreading, etc.)
California Integrated Waste Management Board
Project Task and Timelines:
 Task 1: Assemble team, conduct literature search, develop
workplan, identify crops (Winter/Spring 2007)
 Task 2: Determine research methods, conduct needed
experiments (Spring 2007/Summer 2008)
 Task 3: Set specifications (Summer 2008)
 continued….
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California Integrated Waste Management Board
Project Task and Timelines
continued….
 Task 4: Implement Use Index (Summer/Fall 2008)
 Task 5: Beta Test ACP index (Spring/Summer 2008)
 Task 6: Specification refinement (Fall 2008)
 Task 7: On-line implementing and marketing (Fall/Winter
2008)
 Task 8: Conduct workshops (Winter 2008)
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www.ciwmb.ca.gov