Local Enforcement Agency Compostable Organic Materials Regulatory Initiative

Letter—RE: CIWMB Projects to Advance California's Organic Materials Industry

February 18, 2000

Dear Compost and/or Mulch Producer:

The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) views a vibrant and growing organic materials industry as one of the critical keys in helping local governments reduce disposal by 50 percent. It is vitally interested in promoting safe, effectively-managed operations that garner public confidence and in expanding use of the industry’s products in California.

The CIWMB would like to update you on two projects that will assist in promoting organic materials management in California. These two efforts are designed to collect information from the industry and provide credible results and assistance back to compost and mulch producers. The first project will provide a much-needed baseline of the compost and mulch-producing infrastructure in California. The second project will gather information on how California producers manage and monitor odor at organic materials handling operations. This information will be included in an operational guidance document currently being developed. These two projects will form a strong basis from which the CIWMB and industry can move forward together to promote a growing and successful industry.

The infrastructure study will involve a survey, telephone interview, and site visits to California compost and mulch producers. An independent consultant will gather the information and keep it in confidence; no individual company’s data will be available to the CIWMB or other entities. The information will be aggregated to accurately characterize and baseline the size of the industry. The results of this survey will benefit the industry by providing credible data on the number and type of processing facilities; summary information on the quantities of products sold in California; and an understanding of the overall marketplace. Industry members and the CIWMB can use this information to support new legislative and policy initiatives and to guide the CIWMB's future organic materials diversion activities and programs.

The second project will characterize and benchmark efforts to manage odor at composting and other organic material processing operations (including chip and grind, and mulch sites). It will also implement recommendations from the SB 675 (Chapter 788, Statutes of 1997) odor management working group, which were adopted by the CIWMB in November 1999. Because increasing public concerns about odor threaten existing and future siting of organic material processing operations, information is needed on "best management practices" used to control odor. This project will be conducted in two phases. During the first phase, starting in late February, information on odor management and other practices will be collected from Local Enforcement Agencies (LEA) and selected producers through a phone survey to be conducted by California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO). The second phase will begin later this spring and include an expanded phone survey of producers by Cal Poly SLO to gather more odor management information. The results will be used for research and guidance purposes only. They will be summarized in an extensive guidance document that will provide comprehensive information on effective odor management efforts in California. This guidance document will form the basis for LEA and operator training workshops.

The CIWMB greatly appreciates the cooperation that producers have shown over the years in assisting compost and mulch market development efforts. By collecting the information in these two projects, the CIWMB will be in a position to address concerns and make sound decisions that support the compost and mulch industry in California. We urge you to fully participate in these two important projects.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding either one of these initiatives, please contact Howard Levenson, of the CIWMB's Waste Prevention & Market Development Division, at (916) 341-6583, or Sharon Anderson, of the CIWMB's Permitting and Enforcement Division, at (916) 341-6400.

Sincerely,  

cc: Howard Levenson
     Sharon Anderson 

Interagency Research Home  |  LEA Correspondence Home  | Compost Initiatives Home
Organics Home  |  LEA Centra

Last updated: April 18, 2008