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Mid-Atlantic Composting and Compost Use Webinar Series

You are invited to join our esteemed group of instructors on the third Friday of each month beginning at 2 p.m. EST for an online version of the Mid-Atlantic Better Composting School, without the hands-on training portion. Individual webinars will be 60-75 minutes, including Q&A. This free-of-charge webinar series runs from June 2017 through May 2018. Registration will be required in order to log on. Further details on individual webinars will be forthcoming.

The webinar series provides fundamental education on composting principles and compost use. The program will benefit experienced composters by providing refresher classes that may improve composting operations or help prepare for Compost Operators’ Certification testing. The training may also be useful for those considering starting a composting operation at the on-farm, municipal, or industrial level. Composting regulators and compost marketers could also benefit from the knowledge on the process and the end-product material use.

Series Schedule

Register for upcoming webinars and view past recordings.

No. 1 - Science of composting

June 16, 2017

Presenter: Greg Evanylo

No. 2 - Feedstocks and recipe development

July 21, 2017

Presenters: Greg Evanylo, Gary Felton

No. 3 - Composting systems and methods

August 18, 2017

Presenters:  Gary Felton, Craig Coker

No. 4 - Site selection and design

September 15, 2017

Presenter: Craig Coker

No. 5 - Composting equipment

October 20, 2017

Presenter: Lyndell Pate

No. 6 - Managing water, problem feedstocks

November 17, 2017

Presenter: Gary Felton

No. 7 - Composting management: Odor

December 15, 2017

Presenter: Craig Coker

No. 8 - Health and safety

January 19, 2018

Presenters: Gary Felton, Craig Coker

No. 9 - Regulations

February 16, 2018

Presenter: Kathryn Perszyk, Maryland Department of Environment representative

No. 10 - Compost quality and standards

March 16, 2018

Presenter: Greg Evanylo

No. 11 - Compost use and safety

April 20, 2018

Presenter: Greg Evanylo, Patricia Millner

No. 12 - Marketing, integration, and summary

May 18, 2018

Presenters: Lonnie Heflin, Greg Evanylo

Presenters

Greg Evanylo, Professor & Extension Specialist, Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech, specializes in the use of residual byproducts from agricultural, industrial, and municipal activities. His work clarifies the availability, transport, and effects of nutrients, trace elements, and organic matter in residuals on plant health, soil properties, and water quality. Greg is a member of the U.S. Composting Council, the Water Environment Federation, the Soil Science Society of America, and the American Society of Agronomy.

Gary Felton, Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Science & Technology, University of Maryland, specializes in the fate and transport of nutrients and on-farm applications of technology.

In particular, his work has focused on poultry litter application, co-composting poultry litter and other wastes, and nutrient fate and transport from poultry litter stockpiles.

Craig Coker, Coker Composting and Consulting, has over 35 years experience in the planning, permitting, design, construction and operation of organics recycling facilities processing animal manures, animal mortalities, food wastes, biosolids, yard trimmings and source-separated organic solid wastes, as well as in the marketing and sales of compost and compost-amended horticultural products. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Recycling Association and is a Senior Editor at BioCycle magazine. Craig has training as both an engineer and a scientist and has experience with windrow composting, aerated static pile composting, aerated composting bins, in-vessel systems and both aerobic and anaerobic digestion.

Lyndell Pate, Technical Sales Manager for Ecoverse Industries near Charlotte, North Carolina. Ecoverse delivers a full line of environmental processing equipment, including Doppstadt line, BACKHUS, Backers, Tiger, Stationary Solutions, and Harvest Quest compost equipment lines. Lyndell has in more than 12 years experience in technical support, sales, and consultation for compost operations, specifically with regard to process and equipment recommendations.

Kathryn Perszyk, Solid Waste Permit Coordinator, Office of Waste Programs, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, is a lead staff person in the area of solid waste management permitting, including composting. She is a critical source of composting regulatory information in Virginia.

Patricia Millner PhD, Research Microbiologist, USDA Agriculture Research Center in Beltsville, MD. Pat has worked with biological waste management since 1976 and was instrumental in the development of the Aerated Static Pile method of composting. She has expertise in microbiology of composting, compost products, food safety, and pathogen reduction. Pat has been an extraordinary advocate for organics recovery and composting for more than 20 years.

Lonnie Heflin, Project Manager at Maryland Environmental Service. Lonnie has been President of Bay Organics, LLC, has worked at WSI International, LLC and Wood-Tech Mulch. He has 30 years of experience in organics recycling and composting, including operations, product development, marketing, sales, and management.