The Composter Podcast

In Episode 10 of The Composter, I sit down with Cary Oshins — educator, consultant, longtime industry leader, and someone who has helped shape what composting looks like as a profession in the United States.
For decades, composting has often been seen as something you just “figure out on the pile.” But as this industry grows it’s becoming clear that composting isn’t just a job. It’s a profession.
Cary has spent over 30 years working in composting education, research, and industry development — from county government to Cornell University, to the U.S. Composting Council, Through the USCC he helped develop the week long intensive Composter Operations Training Course. Cary personally educated over 1000 operators through that course.
In this conversation, we talk about what it really means to become a composting professional. I meant to stick to that topic but we do stray towards the end of our chat about the concerning legislation in CA that is impacting the bio plastic industry. We only touched the surface of this and we are going to need a whole episode about CA and this new compostable labeling law.
By listening to this podcast you can earn continuing education credits through the USCC Compost Operations Training Course!
Check out Composter Cary Oshins (👊) at www.linkedin.com/in/caryoshins
Consider giving to the Cary Oshins Training Scholarship: https://compostfoundation.org/ways-to-give/.
USCC Compost Operations Training Course: https://compostfoundation.org/cotc/
The Compost Research and Education Foundation: https://compostfoundation.org/
131 School of Organics: https://www.the131school.com/
The Institute for Local Self Reliance: https://ilsr.org/energy/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23013247877
Northeast Recycling Council: https://www.nerc.org/
Composting Consortium's new EPR report: https://closedloopcenter.com/reports/designing-an-epr-framework-to-include-compostable-packaging-recovery
Thank you to our Show sponsors:
Compost Systems of Austria: https://www.compost-systems.com/en
Agrilab Technologies: www.agrilabtech.com/podcast
Compost Capital Network: https://www.compostcapital.com/

Jayne Merner can be reached at [email protected]
instagram @composterpodcast

In Episode 9 of The Composter, I sit down with Scott Howarth from the Sinclair Group, one of the largest manufactures of produce labels. We talk about how fruit stickers came to be, how labeling is evolving, what the future could hold for compostable produce labeling.
Last September, I found myself in a friendly conversation with the stranger sitting next to me. We were chatting away when I suddenly realized that this stranger, Scott, played a role in developing what many composters consider their greatest nemesis: the fruit sticker. 40 billion stickers a year are made by the Sinclair Group, where Scott does Research and Development.
For decades, I’ve been having imaginary conversations with Scott (although I didn’t know that was his name. So many compost gripe sessions over the last 15 years have circled back to those tiny little stickers. Finding them in finished compost. Trying, and usually failing, to teach people to remove them. Knowing there’s no practical way to screen them out once they’re in the system.
So this episode really felt like a rare opportunity to sit down, ask the questions, and get to the root of it all.
The future is looking bright and Sinclair is at the forefront of the upcoming positive changes. There is legislation in New Zealand and Europe which will ban the plastic fruit stickers. And some companies, like the kiwi company, Zespri are already choosing compostable stickers for their fruit. We are on the cusp of true change.
This conversation left me thinking about how much better the world might be if we all had more chances to sit down for real, thoughtful conversations with the people behind the systems — especially the ones that create frustration and pain points in our daily lives. There’s so much that can shift when we move from assumptions to understanding.
Before we dive in, I also want to say thank you to this episode’s sponsors, Green Mountain Technology, Agrilab Technologies and Compost Capital Network, for supporting this show and the work of composters everywhere.
This is a conversation for every composter who’s ever pulled a sticker out of a lovingly finished pile of compost.
Check out Sinclair (👊) at https://www.sinclair-intl.com/
and here is a link to the YouTube clip Scott mentions: https://youtu.be/2zibNYAuHNc
Thank you to our Show sponsors:
Green Mountain Technology: visit Compostingtechnology.com and mention The Composter podcast for a free consultation
AgriLab Technologies: www.agrilabtech.com/podcast
Compost Capital Network: https://www.compostcapital.com/
Merch:
https://www.earthcarefarm.com/store/c3/Clothing.html
Contact:
Host Jayne Merner can be reached at [email protected] or through instagram @composterpodcast

In this episode 8 of The Composter, I sit down with Justen Garrity from Veteran Compost and Caroline Barry from Closed Loop Partners for a wide-ranging conversation about where the composting industry is right now and where it’s headed next.
A big thread running through this conversation is Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR (no, I hadn’t heard of this before either!) and why it matters so much for composters to be part of these EPR policy discussions early and often. We dig into the realities of de-packaging, the challenges of scaling a composting business, and the mix of grants, loans, and other funding tools that can help move growth forward.
Justen Garrity founded Veteran Compost in 2010 after struggling to find work when he came back from Iraq. The tough job market turned out to be the perfect catalyst for starting up a Veteran run compost operation. Justen shares insights about the Veteran Compost operation in Maryland and Virginia. He’s also a shining example of compost policy activism.
Caroline Barry is Senior Program Manager at The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy, an innovation firm helping businesses solve their most pressing material challenges. She leads the Composting Consortium; an industry collaboration advancing U.S. composting infrastructure and recovery of food scraps & compostable packaging. In this chat Caroline brings a broad systems-level perspective on expanding food scrap composting infrastructure nationwide.
Check out Veteran Compost (👊) at https://www.veterancompost.com/
The Closed Loop Center's new website: https://closedloopcenter.com/
A link to the Composting Consortium's new EPR report: https://closedloopcenter.com/reports/designing-an-epr-framework-to-include-compostable-packaging-recovery
And here is a link to the webinar from Justen on Certified Compostable Products from NERC: https://www.nerc.org/certified-compostable-products--perspectives
Thank you to our Show sponsors:
Compost Systems of Austria: https://www.compost-systems.com/en
Agrilab Technologies: www.agrilabtech.com/podcast
And Closed Loop: https://closedloopcenter.com/
Merch:
https://www.earthcarefarm.com/store/c3/Clothing.html
Contact:
Host Jayne Merner can be reached at [email protected] or through instagram @composterpodcast

Today’s guest is Jeff Gage, Director of Consulting at Green Mountain Technologies and a Certified Composting Professional. One of the major themes of Season 4 is listening closely to deeply experienced composters, and Jeff fits that mold perfectly.
I’m finally learning that when it comes to these revered, long-time practitioners, the best thing to do is ditch my question script and let the stories unfold. That’s exactly what happened in this conversation.
We talk about Jeff’s background and dig into a wide range of real-world case studies — from turned aerated systems to managing water and oxygen, controlling odors, pile heights, adding air when you don’t have power, composting grape pomace, why is compost black and so much more.
Jeff was awarded the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award by the US Composting Council in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the composting industry over the past 40 years. I feel incredibly lucky to get to learn from a lifetime of experience in this episode, I hope you do too.
Check out Green Mountain Technology (👊) http://www.compostingtechnology.com
Jeff’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-gage-962b8730/
More links links from Jeff:
https://certificationsuscc.org/
https://tilthalliance.org/our-work/environmental-stewardship/
https://www.zoo.org/zoodoo
https://www.compostwashington.org/
Read your research (mentioned by Jeff): https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/ucsu20
Thank you to our Show sponsors:
Agrilab Technologies at www.agrilabtech.com/podcast
Viably at https://thinkviably.com/
Green Mountain Technology: visit Compostingtechnology.com and mention The Composter podcast for a free consultation

Merch:
https://www.earthcarefarm.com/store/c3/Clothing.html
Contact:
Host Jayne Merner can be reached at [email protected] or through instagram @composterpodcast

Did we hook you with the photo of Arnold Schwarzenegger and compost!? I hope so because you really want to hear about the less muscley but brilliant guy next to him who designed Arnold’s compost pilot project. In this episode we hear from Austrian engineer and entrepreneur Aurel Luebke from Compost Systems of Austria.
In this episode you will get a sense of how Aurel's thoughtful compost system designs stem from his background growing up around biodynamic farming, which if you're unfamiliar with Biodynamics its a type of organic farming that goes a bit deeper with one foundational element being that you treat the farm like a closed loop where the farm provides its own fertility. Combining that with an engineer’s mindset and a deep understanding of soil, makes for some very thoughtful compost system designs. In this episode we also talk about measuring odor units, my hot trick for getting compost stink off your boots, thoughts on the new 24 hour kitchen composters and oh yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Check out Compost Systems (👊) at www.compost-systems.com
And for anyone interested in cleaning farm smells off your boots, here is a link for the de-skunk dog shampoo Jayne mentions: https://www.wagnwash.com/categories/dog/supplies/grooming/de-skunk-odor-destroying-shampoo/1250?sku=736990000651
Thank you to our Show sponsors:
Compost Systems of Austria: https://www.compost-systems.com/en
And Agrilab Technologies at www.agrilabtech.com/podcast
Merch:
https://www.earthcarefarm.com/store/c3/Clothing.html
Contact:
Host Jayne Merner can be reached at [email protected] or through instagram @composterpodcast