|
Board of Directors & Advisors | Membership
Contact CAV
Pat Sagui,
Director
Composting Association of Vermont
PO Box 112
Troy, Vermont 05868
Telephone: (802) 744-2345
info@compostingvermont.org
About CAV
 CAV seeks to foster a cooperative atmosphere on composting issues. Our projects and activities on emerging trends, issues, science, and technology are available to: generators of compostable materials; compost producers, marketers and consumers; educators and researchers; legislative groups; regulatory agencies; and environmental advocates. Current or past partnerships and work relationships include projects and activities with: University of Vermont’s Agricultural Extension and Plant and Soil Science Department, the Lake Champlain Basin Program, the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and direct technical assistance to farmers and schools. Through these relationships and others, such as with watershed organizations, solid waste districts, and gardening and professional associations, we continue to expand the composting network and knowledge base in Vermont.
What are Some of the Challenges CAV is Working on?
Promoting Education. Heightened awareness leads to greater production and use of compost. We educate about the benefits of composting and compost use for soil and plant health, water quality and environmental protection.
Supporting Vermont-made Compost. The initial market for compost is very localized. Demand varies and follows consumer trends and understanding of the benefits from using compost. High price markets require capitol or labor intensive bagging. Low price markets involve selling in bulk. CAV works to promote Vermont-made compost as a high quality product.
Assessing Feedstock Availability. Compost ingredients are a tough market unto themselves. Assessing potential sources, such as liquid residuals from food processors, is essential to expand a composting operation. Increased cooperation - and where feasible, a buyers cooperative – can help lower production costs.
Advancing New Standards and Legislation. Barriers exist in the composting industry due to limited understanding of compost science and practice. CAV strives to promote composting to legislators, and advocates for rule changes that will effectively reduce barriers while protecting the environment and public health.
Increasing Generator and Hauler Participation. Incentives need to be increased for generators to separate their waste and for haulers to handle those materials. If hauling is not available commercially, forming ‘milk runs’ and other direct links to generators can cut costs.
Click here for our brochure (pdf)
Mission
The Composting Association of
Vermont (CAV) promotes composting
as an integral link between soil
health and sustainable agriculture
and communities. We educate and
advocate on composting issues to:
Goals
CAV provides leadership and
expertise for the responsible
production and use of compost in
Vermont through activities that:
1. Educate the public
2. Build cooperative relationships
3. Promote composting
4. Encourage the use of compost
5. Advance policy
6. Promote market expansion.
Improve soil and plant health;
Conserve water;
Reduce erosion;
Improve water quality;
Lessen landfill burden, and;
Decrease the use of chemical
fertilizers and pesticides.
Board of Directors
Robert Foster, CAV President
Robert is a dairy farmer, part owner and VP of Foster Brothers Farm, and part owner and President of Vermont Natural Ag Products and a Principal in AgRefresh, Inc. (an agricultural ecology consulting firm). He is a graduate of the University of Vermont with B.S. in Ag Engineering and M.S. Ag Economics and graduate of the Maine Compost School. Robert is also a speaker and consultant with over 25 years of experience at the state and national level with anaerobic digestion and composting of organic residuals.
Email: moodoovt@sover.net
|
|
Bob Spencer, CAV Vice-President
Bob has over 20 years of experience in the development and operation of composting facilities. He is a consultant to communities and companies throughout the country, provides technical assistance to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and he assisted the City of Beijing, China in evaluating composting for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Bob is also a Contributing Editor for BioCycle Magazine and a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Email:spencebbc@aol.com
|
 |
Brian Jerose, CAV Treasurer
Brian has over 17 years of experience in resource recovery, conservation and the environmental science field. He is a founding partner of WASTE NOT Resource Solutions and has worked with over 50 farms and businesses in Vermont and New York on projects involving compost site development, watershed protection and biodiesel. Brian received a M.S. in Environmental and Resource Engineering from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 2001. He is also a technical advisor to the Missisquoi River Basin Association.
Email: jerose@together.net
|
 |
Erica Spiegel, CAV Secretary
Erica is the Solid Waste & Recycling Manager for the University of Vermont with 15 years of experience in higher education facilities management and environmental sustainability. Prior to her work at UVM, she spent 10 years in Michigan serving as a recycling program coordinator, a County resource recovery agent and a solid waste planning consultant. She received a M.S. in Natural Resources Policy from the University of Michigan in 1989, and more recently earned an M.P.A. at the University of Vermont.
Email: Erica.Spiegel@uvm.edu
|
 |
Deane Wilson
Deane works in the waste diversion program for the Rutland County Solid Waste District (RCSWD). Deane has 18 years of experience in the municipal solid waste field primarily in C&D and organics diversion. Prior to his work at RCSWD, Deane was employed in the wood products industry for 19 years. Deane graduated from the University of Vermont in 1975 with a B.S. in Forestry.
Email: deanew@rcswd.com
|
|
Faith Ingulsrud
Faith brings more than two decades of on-the-ground experience in land use planning and regulation to the CAV Board. She currently works as a planning coordinator for the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development and was awarded the 2010 Professional Planner of the Year award by the VPA and the Northern New England Chapter of the American Planning Association. A lifelong gardener, she blogs about growing and foraging for food at http://z4z.thirdculture.com/
Email: faith@thirdculture.com
|
 |
Elaine Wang
Elaine is a Senior Program Office at the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). She uses her background in local climate action planning, greenhouse gas accounting, and solid waste management to help ISC design programs to accelerate low carbon development in Asia. Her background in conflict resolution, dialogue, and public participation also help the field teams deliver the programs in partnership with local stakeholders. She has supported the development of ISC’s China urban program since 2010. Wang also helped ISC develop its U.S. Climate Leadership Academy into a premiere peer-learning program for urban climate action.
Active in her community, Wang serves on the Environmental Commission, co-chairs her town energy committee, and is a member of the New England Grassroots Environment Fund’s grantmaking committee. While at the Alliance for Climate Action she conducted a life cycle emissions analysis for the Highfields Institute for Composting's first Close the Loop program in Central Vermont which still serves as the basis for their emissions avoidance estimates. Elaine also worked as a business recycling outreach tech at the Chittenden Solid Waste District, and was the coordinator for the 2009 Vermont Organics Recycling Summit.
She holds an M.S. in Natural Resource Policy with a concentration in transportation energy policy and a B.S. in Conservation and Natural Resources. Wang is fluent in Mandarin Chinese. |
 |
Wendy Sue Harper, Ph.D.
Wendy Sue has over 20 years of experience in ecological agriculture education and technical assistance. She has taught the concepts of ecological agriculture, soil science, and composting using skill-building approaches at educational institutions including Green Mountain College, the University of Vermont and Dartmouth College. Wendy Sue teaches the soils and composting session for the Master Gardeners and the compost biology session for the Master Composters. She has also worked for UVM-Extension, Northeast-SARE, and NOFA-VT. Currently, Wendy Sue is self-employed; her business, WSH Consulting in Monkton, VT, provides educational and technical services to the farming and gardening community.
Email: wsh@gmavt.net |
 |
Advisors
Karen Bates, Watershed Coordinator, Biologist
ANR/DEC – Water Quality Division
Reed Simms, GIS Specialist
USDA – NRCS
Lynn Zanardi Blevins, MD, Produce Safety Assistant,
UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Membership
Join Us to Make a Difference
and Speak for the Soil
CAV is a member led organization -- our efforts, activities, and services rely on the financial support of dues-paying and contributing members. Foundation grants, and event and project sponsors, also help to support policy and education initiatives. CAV uses the tools of scientific research and outreach to educate about healthy soil food webs. We promote the use of compost to ensure that we have sustainable gardens, farms and landscapes. We welcome you to join us in this effort!
Member Benefits
-
20% discount on your BioCycle subscription.
BioCycle -- the only magazine, published since 1960, dedicated to advancing
large-scale composting and organics recycling. Subscribe today! Go to
www.biocycle.net to learn more about BioCycle.
As a member of CAV you are entitled to a 20% discount on your BioCycle subscription.
Contact the CAV office for your coupon code.
-
Discount on admission to CAV workshops and events.
-
A policy voice for composting. Access to relevant legislative and regulatory issues.
-
Network with other composters to share information and resources.
-
CAV Member logo to use on your promotion materials.
- Members Only Access to: Contact the CAV office for access
Become A Member
Download the Membership Form
Annual Membership Dues
| Organizational Dues |
|
| Large Business |
$ 175 |
| Small Business
(<$100,000 annually) |
$ 125 |
| Municipality |
$ 175 |
| Non-Profit |
$ 50 |
| |
|
| Individual Dues |
|
| Consultant |
$ 100 |
| Government/Academic |
$ 75 |
| Individual. |
$ 40 |
Home | Contact & About Us | Our Projects | Our Policy Work
Vermont Organics Recycling Summit
Soil, Compost & Water | Resources & Archives | Links
|
