Six pairs of mentee-mentors from across the U.S. have kicked off their collaborative relationships to strengthen the success of the young people and the future of the compost manufacturing industry in the US Composting Council’s third annual program.
The matching of 18-35-year-olds who are in their first years of careers or businesses with seasoned compost manufacturing industry executives is a prelude to a six-month professional development process. The relationships bridge the knowledge of professionals whose careers have been shaped by the early years of landfill bans of yard trimmings with the burgeoning job market created by the massive trend to move food scrap out of landfills that began in the past five years.
“I was excited before, and now my excitement is at a new level after the first phone calls,” said Luis Chamorro, Vice President of The Ground Up, a Texas compost manufacturer. He is paired with Michael Sullivan, a young entrepreneur of a composting operation called Rust Belt Riders.
Other pairs include:
- Scott Woods, Ben Fredregill and Brett Hoyt from Sustainable Generation, a Delaware firm specializing in compost systems and facility development, who are paired with Alex Hill, a young researcher in California interested in composting of manures; Lynea Baudino, an intern in the City of Fremont, CA’s solid waste management office; and Ward Austin, a University of Arizona compost operator;
- Terry Phillips, president of BioBag USA, a compostable film and bag company, who is mentoring Andy Schartz of Grow, Eat, Repeat, a startup compost business.
- Jeff Ziegenbein from the Inland Empire Regional Composting Authority, who is mentoring Phil Westcott of Key City Compost.
“Building these relationships is a micro-version of the way relationships are built throughout our industry, in which even competitors share best practices for the good of the industry,” said Frank Franciosi, Executive Director of USCC. “Connections like this that are made across geographic regions and with a variety of levels of business experiences continues to make our industry more professional, just as does our professional certification program.”
For more information, www.compostingcouncil.org.