Soil & Mulch Producer News Mar/Apr 2022 by Downing and Associates

Vol. XVI No. 2

March / April 2022

Serving Soil, Mulch, Compost & Wood Pellet Producers www.SoilandMulchProducerNews.com

NEWS

County Expanding Compost Efforts to Meet California’s New Recycling Law

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new $8 million composting facility — designed to speed up the composting process by as much as 50 percent or more from its two existing sites — is being planned by Orange County Waste & Recycling to help meet California’s mandate to divert organic waste from landfills in order to reduce greenhouse gases. When completed, expected sometime By P.J. Heller in 2023, the new 15-acre Valencia Greenery compost facility at the Olinda Alpha Landfill in Brea will feature a covered aerated static Bee Canyon Greenery, located at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine, is the flagship composting pile (CASP) system to more quickly convert program created by Orange County Waste & Recycling. green waste and food waste into compost while requiring less water and space. “Once Valencia Greenery is in operation, “With the CASP system, it utilizes a cover if spargers are used for either negative or positive the goal is to apply the (CASP) technology at Bee system with a force aeration blower. This avoids aeration,” he added. “The compost liquids would Canyon Greenery and Capistrano Greenery,” the need to turn the windrows and reduces also need to be collected if there is negative Koutroulis said. “This will allow the facilities the amount of water used,” explained Tom aeration. Ultimately, the facility operator to potentially process more material within the Koutroulis, director of Orange County Waste needs to perform the analysis to determine the same footprint.” & Recycling. “At the same time, the residence investment costs to utilize technologies other The CASP system could also be used by time to convert the feedstock can be reduced than open windrow composting.” other jurisdictions or companies to convert from 120-180 days to 45-90 days depending on The three landfills run by Orange County traditional compost sites, he added. the feedstock material. The cover system helps Waste & Recycling serve some 3.3 million “A CASP requires more capital and reduce emissions and odors particularly when it people in Southern California living in 34 cities infrastructure needs,” he noted. “CASP utilizes comes to incorporating manure and food waste and the unincorporated areas. Green waste a force aeration system so electricity into the feedstock.” currently comes from only the unincorporated wo u l d b e n e e d e d e i t h e r by Both the 30-acre Bee Canyon areas; the cities and their haulers decide where direct power or through Greenery compost site at green waste is taken, such as to private compost generators. Since blowers the Frank R. Bowerman manufacturers inside or outside the county. are involved and the landfill in Irvine and the David Tieu, deputy director at Orange CASP system utilizes 18-acre Capistrano County Waste and Recycling, said the compost a tarping system for Greenery compost facilities were designed to serve the entire emission control, f a c i l i t y at t h e county and contract negotiations with the cities a permit may be Prima Deshecha would be occurring again later this year. Those required by the landfill in San long‑term agreements could include having the local air quality Juan Capistrano cities bring their green waste and food waste to district. This both utilize the county compost facilities. lengthens the traditional “For the long term, what do they want to timeframe to get open windrow do with their green waste,” Tieu asked. “We built a CASP system technology. Bee these facilities (with that in mind) . . . If they in operation Canyon opened want to bring it to us, we can accommodate them. compared to using in October 2020; If they decide not to, that’s their prerogative.” te t h e o p e n w i n d row Capistrano opened Bee Canyon Greenery and Capistrano t st n he te technology. the following year. Both n Greenery each receive about 150 to 200 tons l ps o o pe re c “Also, there may need composting sites only take u per week of feedstock material, although they t s rati o n s id en tify m o i to be some grading work needed Continued on page 3 in green waste.

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Bee Canyon Greenery in Irvine utilizes traditional open windrow technology.

County Expanding Compost Efforts to Meet California’s New Recycling Law Continued from page 1

are permitted to handle substantially more. Bee Canyon, for instance, is permitted for 437 tons per day. The planned Valencia Greenery site will be permitted for 230 tons per day when fully

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PUBLICATION STAFF Publisher / Editor Rick Downing Contributing Editors / Writers P. J. Heller • Sandy Woodthorpe Production & Layout Christine Mantush Advertising Sales Rick Downing Subscription / Circulation Donna Downing Editorial, Circulation & Advertising Office 6075 Hopkins Road, Mentor, OH 44060 Ph: 440-257-6453 • Fax: 440-257-6459 Email: downassoc2@oh.rr.com Subscription information, call 440-257-6453. Soil & Mulch Producer News is published bimonthly by Downing & Associates. Reproductions or transmission in whole or in part, without written permission of the publisher, is prohibited. Annual subscription rate U.S. is $19.95. Outside of the U.S. add $10 ($29.95). Contact our main office, or mail-in the subscription form with payment. ©

operational, according to Tieu, although it will start its first phase at a fraction of that amount. “Currently, we are in the process of obtaining the entitlement permits with the state, local fire authority, and air quality management district,” Koutroulis said. “Valencia Greenery will start out as windrow composting facility operating at a very small scale as we work to obtain the entitlements for the CASP system.” The CASP system will be provided by Sustainable Generation of Wilmington, DE, which has 300 installations worldwide, according to its website. Other companies sell similar types of CASP systems. The impetus for the latest compost facility was a California law (SB 1383) that went into effect Jan. 1, 2022, requiring every jurisdiction to provide all businesses and residences with organic waste collection services for food waste, yard trimmings and paper and cardboard and to recycle those materials. Those items make up half of what Californians throw away in landfills. The goal is to reduce organic waste disposal by 75 percent by 2025. Burying that organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is estimated that about 20 percent of the methane emissions in California come from landfills. Besides the environmental benefits of reducing methane emissions, Koutroulis said diverting organic waste from the landfills should extend the life of the Olinda, Bowerman and Prima Deshecha landfills. The Olinda site is Continued on page 16

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Avian Influenza Outbreak Forces Farmer to Slaughter and Compost 2.75 Million Chickens

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EFFERSON COUNTY, WI — Federal, state and local government officials worked with the operator of a large egg farm to determined how to dispose of slaughtered chickens after a USDA inspection found positive cases of Avian Influenza last month, WTMJ-TV reported. Cold Spring Egg Farm, owned by S&R Egg Farms, Inc., was found to have inadequate space for composing all the chicken carcasses. An empty field in this rural area was deemed safe for as an additional composting site. State Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) inspectors will monitor the site daily to “ensure the compost is reaching the optimum temperature to deactivate the virus as quickly as possible,” according to a statement. State and county officials explained to media that composting is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of the carcasses. They used the same method in 2015 during a previous outbreak in Jefferson County, one of the nation’s largest egg producers. County officials said they are working with the farm to mitigate any area homeowner concerns about groundwater contamination. Residents will receive well water test kits. According to the Centers for Disease Control, infected birds shed Avian Influenza, or “bird flu virus,” through their saliva, mucous and feces. Human infections with bird flu viruses can happen when virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled. This can happen when virus is in the air (in droplets or possibly dust) and a person breathes it in, or possibly when a person touches something that has virus on it then touches their mouth, eyes or nose. Human infections with bird flu viruses have occurred most often after unprotected contact with infected birds or surfaces contaminated with bird flu viruses. However, some infections have been identified where direct contact with infected birds or their environment was not known to have occurred. The spread of bird flu viruses from one infected person to a close contact is very rare, and when it has happened, it has only spread to a few people. However, because of the possibility that bird flu viruses could change and gain the ability to spread easily between people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person spread is extremely important for public health.

Russia Shuts Off Wood Supply to the West

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Soil & Mulch Producer News March / April 2022

OSCOW, RUSSIA – Russia’s export ban on wood and forestry products will impact cost and availability of many finished goods, reports WoodworkingNetwork.com. Russia’s retaliation to economic sanctions by the United States and other countries quickly reverberated throughout the hardwood markets soon after taking effect in mid-March. TimberCheck estimates that about 10 percent of hardwood plywood (birch) exported to the U.S. is used in finished goods such as kitchen cabinets, recreational vehicles, mobile homes, flooring, and furniture. That plywood might be cut off due to the ban. The ban will affect about 200 products including not just forestry products and equipment, but also telecom, medical, auto, agricultural, electric, and tech equipment, according to Reuters. Russia is the world’s largest exporter of timber, primarily softwoods, selling some $12 to $14 billion in goods in 2021. Most of the wood is sold directly or indirectly to the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and China. The ban is expected to stay in place until the end of 2022.

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News From The Mulch & Soil Council By Robert LaGasse, Executive Director

MSC Joins NOSB Amicus Brief

or the past 2 years, we have reported on the efforts by some organic farmers (using organic field production methods) to sue the USDA, the National Organic Program (NOP) and the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) to force NOP to change its decade-long policy allowing container and hydroponic growers to be certified as organic crop producers. The traditional organic farmers claim a primary principle of “organic” crop production requires conservation, stewardship and sustainable crop production “in the earth’s crust” (agronomic soil). Since greenhouses and hydroponic production is not in the “earth’s crust” they essentially demand that all controlled environment agriculture (CEA - especially hydroponics) does not qualify as organic and USDA must discontinue the long-standing approval of container and hydroponic growers as USDA/NOP Certified Organic producers and crops. That is what they tell the courts. We have also reported that some of the plaintiffs in this case have admitted in public, and in publications, that the crop yield per acre of CEA is 10-15 times greater than field-grown organic farming. This yield floods the market with more certified organic crops for consumers, and the higher supply keeps market prices down which makes it more difficult for the traditional organic framers to profit at the lower market prices. So, you can determine for yourself if this is about their perceived principles of the earth’s crust… or money. Regardless, the traditional organic farmers and their trade groups in concert with the Center for Food Safety (CFS) sued USDA/NOP/NOSB)

and Ag. Secretary Tom Vilsack in 2020 to overturn NOSB’s ruling that hydroponic and container growers can continue to be certified as organic growers. They lost that case in 2021 as the court ruled NOSB was not wrong in its interpretation of the Organic Food Production Act (OFPA). The Coalition for Sustainable Organics (CSO) lead a CEA industry effort to file an Amicus Curiae (friend of the court) brief to support USDA/ NOP in its defense of the NOSB refusal to cancel CEA organic certification. Since some greenhouse growers are MSC member customers, CSO asked the Council to support the original amicus brief last year, but there was insufficient time to get everything reviewed and approved before their filing deadline. We were not part of the original case proceeding. After losing the case, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) filed an appeal on behalf of the organic farmers. CSO again asked MSC to join as a party to an amicus brief supporting USDA/NOP/NOSB in their defense against the appeal to overturn CFS et al’s loss in the original case. Other supporters (Amici) of the brief are the CSO, Aquaponics Association (AA), Western Growers Association (WGA), International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) and The Scotts Company. After reviewing the issues and in consultation with MSC Legal Counsel John Hazard, the MSC Board of Directors unanimously voted to join as a participant in the filing of an Amici Curiae on behalf of our industry in support of USDA/NOSB’s decision to allow greenhouse and hydroponic growers to continue to be eligible for classification as organic production faculties. Continued on page 8

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News From The Mulch & Soil Council By Robert LaGasse, Executive Director

Continued from page 6

AAPFCO Winter Meeting

NAISMA Compost Certification

SC staff traveled to Mobile, AL in February to participate in the 2022 Winter Meeting of the AAPFCO. There were 14 states and 67 industry representatives present or the first in-person meeting since 2020. Craig Rosenbusch of The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) reported on a recent survey where fertilizer manufacturers indicated the top influences on the fertilizer market are the price of commodities, the price of inputs and government regulation. The leading industry opportunities identified were: innovation with biostimulants, green ammonia, enhanced efficiency fertilizers and sustainability. Supply chain issues are having major price impacts in the market as 30% of nitrogen materials and 40% of world phosphorus supplies come from China; so, trade sanctions immediately create material shortages. Sanctions on Belarus also caused a 20% drop in potash supplies in the U.S. Other contributors to rocketing prices are the labor shortages, the decline in production (2020 & 2021) when product demand boomed, weather in Texas that shut down natural gas production resulting in a 20% decline in nitrogen production and hurricane Ida shutting down more natural gas production. Other activities benefitting from coordination among states and industry included updating terms for “beneficial substances”, acceptance of new guidelines for efficacy claims for biostimulants, and new efforts to draft a model law and regulation for biostimulants.

he North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) is an organization of Federal, state and local government officials charged with preventing the spread of invasive species (primarily weed seeds) on land and water by promoting and enforcing prevention and treatment standards, practices and inspections for forage, hay and gravel. Last year the MSC assisted the NAISMA Weed Free Products Committee (WFPC) in developing guidelines for certifying mulch products as weed free. Those guidelines were adopted by the NAISMA membership last fall. Last December, the WFPC invited the Council to again participate in developing a new guideline for certifying weed-free compost. We recommended they also invite our colleagues at the U.S. Composting Council and USCC Executive Director Frank Franciosi joined the group for a preliminary meeting in January. Since heat treatment of compost for PFRP generally includes weed seeds, it is yet to be decided if a new standard or certification is needed under NAISMA, but we will keep the MSC membership advised as the work progresses. If you have any interest in contributing to the WFPC activities, please contact the MSC office.

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Continued on page 10

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News From The MSC Continued from page 8

Six States Adopt Clean Truck Rule

he U.S. trucking industry is set to be transformed by a handful of states adopting zero-emission vehicle requirements. Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts followed California in approving the Advanced Clean Truck rule late last year, requiring a growing percentage of all medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold to be zero-emission starting in 2025. Manufacturers must increase their zero-emission truck sales in those states to 30% to 50% by 2030, and 40% to 75% by 2035. In the years to come, the new sales mandate will fill the country’s coastal highways and corridors with an expanding number of electricpowered large pickups, buses, garbage trucks and tractor-trailers. Oregon also approved the Heavy-Duty Omnibus rule, which toughens tailpipe standards on sales of new trucks that still run on fossil fuels and makes them 90% cleaner, once fully implemented. Other states may follow soon: Maine has taken steps to adopt the ACT rule in 2022, while Colorado, Illinois, Connecticut and Vermont have signaled plans to weigh the new regulations as well. Even parts of the country that don’t have the rules in place could see a spillover effect as manufacturers start to comply.

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The Mulch & Soil Council began in 1972 and is the national association of producers of horticultural mulches, consumer potting soils and commercial growing media. Its mission is to define quality products and promote an open market and fair competition. To learn more about The Mulch & Soil Council, visit mulchandsoilcouncil.org or call 806-832-1810.

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Timber from Russia & Belarus Considered ‘Conflict Timber’

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ecognizing the looming impacts of export bans by Russia and Belarus, CEI-Bois (the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries) and EOS (the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry) urge interventions to prevent a critical logs shortage, reports Timber Trades Journal (TTJ). Meeting in March, the trade groups agreed to work closely with the EU institutions and national European governments to identify sustainable and efficient mitigating measures. They aim to focus on solutions that could increase self-reliance, help reduce critical shortages, increase harvesting rate, and ensure security of logs supply. They say they will seek to mobilize existing wood resources to fill the supply gap, as well. Members also supported the decision taken by Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the certification organization for small forest owners, to classify Belarus and Russian products as “conflict timber.” This will result in the wood from those countries as being ineligible for accredited certification. Wood and forest products from Russia and Belarus cannot be used in FSC products or be sold as FSC-certified anywhere in the world as long as the armed conflict continues, the nonprofit sustainability organization resolved. The trade ban will cause serious consequences for European market supply. According to official statistics, slightly less than 10% of the sawn softwood consumed in Europe in 2021 originated from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In the hardwood sector, oak goods originating from Ukraine made up a significant quantity. Shortages are therefore expected. The wood product trade ban means that several critical industrial supply chains, for example, food and medicine, may have to look for alternate sources of wooden pallets. Many wood-based construction materials, such as birch plywood and sawn timber, will be very hard hit.

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Ohio Power Company Launches Compost University to Launch in May Utility Pole Recycling Program

KRON, OH — Wooden utility poles no longer fit for use in Ohio are receiving a new lease on life, thanks to a program launched by FirstEnergy Corp. to repurpose discarded poles and keep them out of landfills. Under the new Wood Pole Diversion Program, utility poles no longer in use by FirstEnergy’s Ohio utilities – Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company or Toledo Edison – will be redistributed to interested parties for direct reuse. Alternative uses for poles include fencing, parking bollards, guide rail posts, furniture, landscaping or treated wood construction. When a FirstEnergy pole is retired, utility personnel will remove any hardware from the pole and store it at one of its participating service centers. Each pole, which weighs roughly 50 pounds per cubic foot, must be at least eight feet in length to be part of the reuse program. When a service center has collected approximately 12 tons of utility poles, the company will work with a transportation and materials management firm to pick them up and distribute them for reuse. The poles will be delivered at no cost to interested parties who are willing to accept a full load, can be accessed by tractor trailer and are located within a certain distance from the collection sites. In the past, FirstEnergy’s discarded utility poles had been cut into smaller pieces and stored on site until a waste management company took them to a landfill for disposal. Since the trial phase of the initiative started in 2020, FirstEnergy has diverted more than 1 million pounds of discarded utility poles from landfills. In addition to being offered in Ohio, the pole recycling program was recently rolled out by all of FirstEnergy’s electric companies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and West Virginia. The program is expected to reduce FirstEnergy’s waste stream significantly over time, as most poles weigh between 300 and 4,100 pounds.

s the compost industry expands nationally there is great demand for trained and certified compost operators and professionals who run safe, efficient, neighbor- and environment-friendly operations. A new online learning platform, Compost University (Compost U), will enable individuals and companies to achieve their continuing education objectives and aspirations as well as overcome challenges caused by limited time and ability to travel. The new online learning management system, Compost U, will combine industry-leading content from USCC (US Composting Council) and CREF (Compost Research & Education Foundation) training and education resources, such as conference talks, webinars, short classes and new longer advanced courses. This new platform offers hundreds of digital coursework covering a wide range of business, science, management, safety, and technical topics which can be taken anytime, anywhere. The USCC’s professional credential programs boasts nearly 100 Certified Compost Operation Managers (CCOMs) and Certified Composting Professionals (CCPs). Each certified individual must participate in continuing education totaling 30 Professional Development Hours (PDHs) every three years. Compost U will be tied into the USCC’s database so that certificants’ PDHs will be automatically tracked through the certificants’ personal account. Compost University will launch in mid-May and help USCC and CREF to bolster the industry and train the next generation of compost professionals.

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merimulch® recently introduced its new 150 Line of m u l c h co l o ra nt s. The 150 Line was developed as a high-performance alternative to lowcost, low-grade colorants currently on the market. ChromaScape’s 150 Line can reduce application rates up to 50% which equates to more yield of colored mulch per tote or drum of colorant. By using the 150 Line you can improve manufacturing efficiencies from handling fewer totes and drums on the yard and in inventory. The 150 Line will have a positive environmental impact by reducing disposable packaging. Amerimulch provides landscape colorants and equipment for the production of profitable, in-demand, colored mulches. Our colorants are formulated for superior bonding, coating, and coverage, and our equipment is designed for producers who want simple, effective, highvolume production.

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County Expanding Housing Prices Likely to Remain Out of Reach for Many Americans Compost Efforts Continued from page 3 scheduled to close in 2036; the Bowerman in 2053 and the 1534-acre Prima facility in 2102. Exactly how food waste will be collected and brought to the compost facilities is still to be determined. Some jurisdictions outside Orange County have advised residents to toss food scarps in with regular household trash and then it is separated out at landfill processing centers; other areas have dedicated bins for compostable materials including food scraps. As Orange County cities develop their compliance plans, “they will be working with their respective haulers on how to collect the green waste and food waste,” Koutroulis said. “Many cities already offered a yard waste bin to their residents which is collected by the haulers for source separation and recycling. Many cities are also informing their residents to dispose of their food waste into the yard waste bin as well. Over time we will have a better sense of the volume of food waste that will be mixed with the green waste. At this time, we are only seeing yard waste come to our facilities. “Ultimately,” he added, “the goal is to be able to utilize the composting facility to handle as much organic waste as possible.” Article photos courtesy of Orange County Waste & Recycling.

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s screaming headlines and news commentators warn about a coming housing price bubble burst, a far less dramatic scenario appears more likely, according to a paper published by Yale University and a blog published by the Dallas Federal Reserve. The Dallas Federal Reserve blog observes rising inflation (currently at an 8% yearto-year rate), a decline in new home construction due to cancellations, tight lumber supplies, and wood and transportation fuel prices as some of reasons we are seeing record housing prices in some parts of the country. While noting certain indications of home prices coming down, the Dallas Fed economists say a correction in the housing market would not be a repeat of the 2007–09 Global Financial Crisis. Why not? Among the less arcane explanations are two reasons most people can understand: household balance sheets are now in better shape and excessive borrowing is not happening. The authors of the Yale University paper entitled “What Have They Been Thinking? Home Buyer Behavior in Hot and Cold Markets: a Ten-Year Retrospect,” also downplay any frightening scenarios. “Since the strong uptrend in home prices that started in 2012 and strengthened with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is not associated with high ten-year expectations for price increase, and since homebuyers mostly stay in their homes for years or decades, we would not call the experience a bubble, at least not in the classic sense,” they wrote. The oft-cited bidding wars and half-million-dollar median home prices on the West Coast are real. Growing technology hubs, remote work, various impacts of COVID-19, and trendiness of certain Southwestern locations are just some of the complex reasons for the phenomenon. Quoted on The Street website, a spokesperson for Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. in Colorado, also does not predict a major drop in housing prices, especially for primary homes in the mid- and lower range of a given market. “Any kind of bubble would mostly affect secondary and vacation properties.”

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agano, Japan — Planting trees close together can help them survive powerful storms and prevent wind damage, according to findings reported in the journal, Science Advances. A team of scientists from Shinshu University in Nagano, the Forest Products Research Institute in Tsukuba, along with researchers from University of Liverpool and Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany, and Institut Européen de la Forêt Cultivée, Cestas, France studied the effect of high winds on forests. Their findings showed that trees supported each other as they oscillated or swayed back and forth during a typhoon that hit Japan in 2018. By luck, the lead investigator and her team from Shinshu University in Japan were able to observe and measure the effects before, during and after Typhoon Trami on two plots planted with Japanese cedar trees. One of the plots had been thinned and one had left alone. The plot that had not been thinned kept all its trees while the one that was sparse had many casualties, the scientists found. The researchers think that the tight spacing helped protect the trees by dissipating the force from the wind through collisions between branches of neighboring trees. This prevented the force from travelling into the sensitive stem and roots below, where it might uproot trees. They also found that the trees that did fall in the thinned plot didn’t fail instantly but over time. The study authors described the effect as similar to a piece of metal that’s repeatedly been bent back and forth before finally breaking. Understanding how far apart to space trees in plantations could be important for the timber industry, the authors noted. They hope their findings will help improve efforts to plant forests for carbon offsetting.

EW ORLEANS, LA — According to the Louisiana State University (LSU) Ag Center, Hurricane Ida cost the industry $315 million in direct damage, a figure which could rise if damaged and fallen trees aren’t removed soon, reports Fox8Live. The Ag Center estimates including severe damage to 167,622 acres of forestland in 11 parishes. Of that, an estimated 57,611 acres suffered “very severe damage” (50 percent or more) and 47,402 acres were classified as “severely damaged” (30-50 percent). Because of high insurance costs and restrictions on cutting trees by hand, very few logging companies will touch storm damage. Owners and loggers must bring in specialized equipment to harvest damaged timber stands, which means transportation and operators who specialize in running “feller-bunchers,” and other equipment. Forestry is the number one agricultural commodity in Louisiana. The impact of forestry and forest product industries to the state economy in 2017 was $12.919 billion, according to the latest LSU AgCenter figures. The Louisiana Forestry Association put forestry-related employment at 51,874 jobs total, with manufacturing providing about 19,969 jobs in 2017. In addition, about 8,000 people are employed in the harvesting and transportation of timber. Private non-industrial landowners own 81% of the state’s forestland, forest-products industries own 10%, and the public owns 9%.

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VOL. XVI NO. 2

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage

PAID

Cleveland, OH Permit #1737

MAR /APR 2022

Inside This Issue County Expanding Compost Efforts to Meet California’s New Recycling Law

PAGE 1

Avian Influenza Outbreak Forces Farmer to Slaughter and Compost 2.75 Million Chickens

PAGE 4

News from the Mulch & Soil Council

PAGE 6

Compost University to Launch in May

PAGE 12

Product / Equipment Profiles

PAGE 14

Housing Prices Likely to Remain Out of Reach for Many Americans

PAGE 16

Typhoon Brings Answers to Scientists Studying Forest Planting

PAGE 18

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