Vermont Organics Recycling Summit

20th Annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit: Compost! Feed the Soil that Feeds Us

Are you inspired by the power of compost to nourish soil, strengthen local food systems, and support community resilience?

Join us at the 20th Vermont Organics Recycling Summit!

Full Program
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When: Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Where: Montpelier Performing Arts Hub

Workshops and tours will be held around the state on Thursday, March 26, and Saturday, March 28.

Jayne Merner has a lifelong passion for enlivening the world's soils. She grew up among the fertile windrows of compost at her family’s Earth Care Farm in Charlestown, Rhode Island. Founded in 1977 by her father, Michael Merner, Earth Care Farm is now operated by Jayne with the help of three generations of Merners and a small, dedicated staff.

The farm raises produce using regenerative practices and is best known for its large-scale, high-quality Merner’s Gold Compost. In addition to her work on the farm, Jayne hosts The Composter podcast and has traveled around the world teaching composting, helping to establish composting facilities, and sharing her deep love of the natural world.

Meet our 2026 Keynote Speaker: Jayne Merner

VORS 2026 Program

Wednesday, March 25

8:00-9:00 Registration, Networking, Exhibitors, Continental breakfast (Chapel)

9:00-10:15 Plenary session (Chapel)

    • Presented by Ben Gauthier

10:15-10:45 Break - Networking, exhibitors (Chapel)

10:45-12:15 Concurrent sessions

  • This policy update session will provide an overview of recent and pending changes to Vermont’s solid waste and materials management framework, with a focus on on-farm composting (VAAFM, Act 41) and updates to the Solid Waste Management Rules (ANR/DEC), including new rules regarding depackaging facilities. Presenters will summarize where Vermont is in the rulemaking and implementation process, outline key provisions under consideration, and clarify timelines and areas of ongoing discussion. The session is designed to inform participants about the practical and policy implications of these updates, including how new and revised rules may affect organics management, depackaging operations, compliance expectations, system capacity, and the handling of higher-risk or more complex materials—such as butcher and slaughterhouse waste—within Vermont’s diversion and composting systems. The goal is to support shared understanding, identify implementation considerations, and create space for questions and dialogue as Vermont continues advancing its solid waste management rules.

    Facilitators:

  • Biochar is gaining momentum as a tool for compost and soil health—but not all “char” products are created equal. This session offers an overview of what biochar is, how it differs from high-carbon wood ash and other char materials, and why flame-top kilns are a strong option for farm-scale production. From there, the session connects production to outcomes: how biochar interacts with compost microbes, decomposition dynamics, and compost recipe design, and where it can add value in compost workflows and finished products. Ken will share lessons from building acceptance and adoption in Northern California. This sets the stage for a discussion of broader applications, including innovative approaches that incorporate biochar in media for compost filter socks, as well as developments in biodegradable sock material, their pros and cons for replacing poly netting, opening the door to new tools and products that support cleaner organics handling and reduced reliance on plastics.

    Presenters:

  • Healthy soils and clean water are deeply connected—and compost can help Vermont communities protect both. This panel highlights composting, nutrient recovery, and stormwater best practices that advance water quality across farms, roads, and watersheds. Agrilab Technologies, a Vermont Phosphorus Innovation Challenge (VPIC) awardee, will share updates from its on-farm Compost Aeration and Heat Recovery (CAHR) system and composting partnership at the Burnor Farm Site in Fairfield, including work to process manure phosphorus concentrates into nutrient-fortified compost and deploy manure ultrafiltration pilots in Franklin and Addison counties. We’ll also hear from those working with stormwater management and approaches to engaging watershed and community partners in compost–soil health–water quality projects that build local understanding and accelerate practical adoption.

    Presenters:

12:15-2:00 Lunch, networking, exhibitors (Chapel)

2:00-3:00 Concurrent sessions

  • This presentation will provide an overview of resource concerns and other criteria of NRCS cost-share assistance for compost facilities. It will cover the types of facilities NRCS can cost-share including anaerobic digesters, management considerations, and end-use applications. We will also briefly cover the NRCS TSP program as it relates to compost and nutrient management.

    Presenters:

  • Restoring soils on a regional scale requires a systems approach supported by the community. This workshop will cover examples and ideas of how organizations, farmers, schools, conservation districts, conservation commissions and others can all work together to share best practices, interventions, trials, errors, and success stories. Part presentation, part conversation, we will explore our ability to leverage organics recycling, composting, and other initiatives to cultivate the foundation for healthy soils, food systems, waterways and communities.

    Presenters:

    • Karen Ganey; ReGeneration Corps

    • Willie Gibson, CCA; White River Natural Resources Conservation District

  • The purpose of this session is to increase food security for Vermonters by reinvigorating the connection between the waste management sector and the food rescue community.  A 2022 UVM study showed that 2 in 5 people in Vermont had experienced food insecurity in the past year. Solid Waste partners have a vital role to play on the road to food security, and the session will share the connection to the strategic state document, The Vermont Food Security Roadmap to 2035.Learn about opportunities to connect with the Hunger Free Vermont’s Food Security Networks across the state and enhance your networks. Get inspiration and tools from Willing Hands and the Vermont Foodbanks outreach to increase the rescue of wholesome food before it enters the waste steam.

    Moderator:

    Presenters:

3:00-4:00 Networking, exhibitors & exhibitor bingo prizes! (Chapel)

4:00-6:00 After the program concludes, join us for an evening of tasty snacks, cold beverages and riveting compost conversation at Barr Hill. Generously sponsored by EcoProducts

Thursday, March 26

On Day 2 of VORS, there will be a variety of FREE tours and workshops around the state. More details will be added and registration will open soon! Questions? Contact Natasha.

  • We will provide a tour of our Research Center including our lab, wet room (where we sanitize collected urine), portable toilet operation, demonstration garden and vermiponics system.  The tour will include an overview of our Urine Nutrient Reclamation Program and allow ample time for questions and answers. We also provide a slide presentation of the latest on-farm research from the Rich Earth Institute. We will share findings from our 3-year study investigating soil health impacts and farmer perspectives on novel soil amendments—including human urine, biochar from biosolids, biochar from other biomass, and compost—and discuss new equipment for on-farm urine fertilization. The presentation will conclude with our vision for upcoming research, and allow time for questions and answers.

    • Time: TBD

    • Place: Rich Earth Institute, Brattleboro

    • Hosts:

      • Tatiana Schreiber, Rich Earth Institute Social Research Director

      • Gretchen Saveson, Rich Earth Institute Research Associate

      • Arthur Davis, Rich Earth Institute Operations Director

  • Restoring soils on a regional scale requires a systems approach supported by the community. This workshop will cover examples and ideas of how organizations, farmers, schools, conservation districts, conservation commissions and others can all work together to share best practices, interventions, trials, errors, and success stories. Part presentation, part conversation, we will explore our ability to leverage organics recycling, composting, and other initiatives to cultivate the foundation for healthy soils, food systems, waterways and communities.

    • Time: TBD

    • Place: Windham Solid Waste Management District, Brattleboro

    • Host: Bob Spencer, Executive Director, WSWMD

  • The Upper Valley Super Compost Project (UVSCP) is a nonprofit initiative to bring tailored compost infrastructure to public schools and support the development of cooperative, fully integrated school composting programs. UVSCP systems are collaboratively developed with schools and communities to support effective food scrap recycling, student learning and leadership, real-world problem solving, reinvestment in school staff, and the development of social and soil resilience. Come see for yourself! Sharon Elementary started using their Super Compost system in November 2023. Join us to tour the working system and hear from the students, teachers, and volunteers who sustain it.

    • Time: 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm

    • Place: Sharon Elementary School, Sharon

    • Facilitator: Cat Buxton, Grow More, Waste Less, Upper Valley Super Compost Project

  • Did you know one person’s urine contains enough nutrients to grow the grain for a loaf of bread every day? This guided tour of Wasted’s urine-to-fertilizer facility introduces visitors to our vision of catalyzing circular sanitation and changing the way people think about waste. Guests will learn how urine collected from portable and permanent toilets is transformed into licensed, safe, and effective fertilizers. The tour walks through key steps of the process, including urine collection from our proprietary toilets, heat treatment in our pasteurizer, and phosphorus extraction in our struvite reactor. Along the way, we explain how recovering urine’s nutrients protects waterways and reduces reliance on unsustainable fertilizers.

    • Time: TBD

    • Place: Wasted’s Circular Sanitation System, Williston

    • Hosts: Benson Colella and Rachel Binstock, Wasted*

  • Details and location coming soon!

Questions? Contact us!

Special thanks to

Thanks to CAV Regenerators

Thanks to VORS Sustaining Sponsors

Thanks to VORS Exhibiting Sponsors

Interested in sponsoring VORS 2026?

Consider becoming a CAV sponsor to maximize your visibility among out community!

Interested in only sponsoring or exhibiting at the Summit? We have four categories:

  1. $1,500 includes additional acknowledgement, exhibitor table, 4 comped registrations

  2. $1,000 includes exhibitor table, 2 comped registrations

  3. $500 includes exhibitor table, 1 comped registration, 1 discounted registration

  4. $250 includes exhibitor table, 1 discounted registration

Logos and website links for Sponsors are included in promotion, on event and organization websites, and through our social media. We estimate VORS annual electronic promotion reaches 10,000+ individuals.

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