For the City Times

A three-day course on improving mid- to large-scale composting operations will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point July 11-13.

The 2017 Midwest Compost School, held annually since 1995, offers a mix of classroom, hands-on and field trip experiences. It is hosted for the first time by UW-Stevens Point’s Soil and Waste Resources discipline and the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology (WIST), both housed within the university’s College of Natural Resources.

The course is geared toward new and experienced compost facility operators, on-farm composters, UW Extension educators and city and government officials who would benefit from knowledge of compost operations to improve quality, regulations, marketing and profitability.

It will include:
Introduction to the composting process
Recipe development and feedstock characteristic
Compost quality and measurement
Compost pile building
Compostable packaging
Applications of compost
Hands-on compost pile construction
Midwest regulations overview and update
Site visit

The course meets the requirements for the U.S. Certification Commission CCOM™ (Certified Compost Operations Manager) basic training prerequisite. For information, go to www.certificationsUSCC.org. Continuing education credits will also be available.

The course fee is $550 if registered by June 16 or $650 after. The course is limited to 35 students. Register online, or for more details visit www.uwsp.edu/wist or email Angie Hauer, WIST development coordinator, at [email protected].