I nd traiíG 3tely will5, and the Irying calality ag0 se11the nd drying cemarket cents per I the price program high cost material. chooseto Imentally How to best markef?“@ by Caroline Repenning ) keeping disposal, : benefits I not have _ e the film that they lg collecover the to reduce were unand storid dry for aterial intter effort t is going lo covers nade sevng to foi:n cutting odryand ling it up otect feed lirty. As a ,nue to be material. and time for recymay want that farm1,dry maqdle, thus .er opporRR es of plas- unPlastics e available $urce.com). Ily at APC, M arketing is just as ifuportant to operational süccess in compost+g as production. Compostingis a greatconceptbecauseit helps the environment,saveslandfill spaceand pus peopleto work. Thus, many peoplehave concluded: Let’s start a composting operation. That’s exactly what 1 did, as have many othersin this growing industry. We know we are doing “the right thing,” and perhaps that 1~11s us into a dangerouscomfort zone. But the reality of running a composting company is no different tban any other business.We must manufacturea product of proven value, and we must market it. The GreenCycle companies, based in Northfield, Illinois, compost organic materials, such as yard trimmings, wood waste, soiled horse bedding and pre-consumerfood scraps, at 10 sites around the country. Becausewe are paid for acceptingincoming materials, compost operatorsoften feel that the rigors of selling finished compost are not as important to us as they are to other businesses. But GreenCycle,like everyoneelse in the composting industry, has to find markets for its products. From this experience, 1 have severa1recommendations. Just because your product is “recycled” doesn’t mean buyers want it We market the benefitsof our productsto potential customers,not the fact that the prod- ucts are the result of recycling. The fact that these products are recycled makes the customer appropriately pleased with his environmental awareness.But that’s not enough to makehim want to buy it. Compostis ~01th paying money for becauseit improves water retention,makesplantsgrow betterand faster, and rejuvenatescompactedturf. In laboratorystudies,some compostsh: been shown ti be effective against turf ( eases,and GreenCycle is now working w golf course superintendentsin New Brit; Connecticut and Glenview, Illinois to whether tbe disease-suppressingcharacte. tics of compost observed in the laboratc can be realized on thesecourses. Develop value-added organic products Don? rely on the legislative environment Compost operatorsneed to develop and market morepmductsthatoffer additionalcustomer benefíts,not just a one-size-fits-allcompost. For example, GreenCycle is involved in efforts to prove the merits of using specially made composts on golf courses. These facilities have unique needsin termsof soil supplements. Becauseof the biological stresson turf from high usage and from the need to mow the grass frequently and keep it short, golf course superintendentsfrequently have to deal with turf diseases. Chemicals, such as fungicides, are effective against thesediseases,but they are expensive,and increasing regulatory restrictions are being imposed on their use. Much of tbe current momentum toward c( posting organic material rather than bury it in the ground was generated in the 1 1980sand continuesin this decadeas a re: of numerous statesbanning yard trimmil from the landfill. The raw material flow our industry is presently supported by I legislation. Dependenceon it is fraught v peri1for the unprepared. Although the laws continue to stand, : no statehas completely rescindeda ban, th is always the chance that a large, WC organized and better-funded industry gr( will see composting as a threat and succe fully lobby legislators to remove the lawy CarolineRepenningis presidentof GreenCycle,Inc., GreenCycleof Indianaand GreenCycleof Northeast,Inc. Sheis alsovice presidentanda director of GreenCycle of Georgia, Inc. She mana these businesses from GreenCycle, Inc.‘s offíces in Northfield, Illinois. Resour-ce Recycling June 1997 E For example, the effect of a landfill ban is to reduce landfill revenuesby an average of 20 percentin the U.S. Large haulersand landti11owners had been looking for an opportunity to eliminate the yard trimmings ban in Indiana. A few years ago, they felt they had found a window of opportunity. As a result of lobbying efforts, Indiana law was modified, severely limiting the types of organic materials banned from the landfill. Fortunately, GreenCycle has been successful in finding alternative sources of appropriate compostable material. Be able to clearly explam the benefits of compost Well-made compost looks like dirt. It generally contains about 1 percent nitrogen, which is a small amount in camparison with most commercial fertilizers. On the surface,it may not appear to be the valuable product it is. Therefore. the composterneedsto clearly explain the follo\sing benefits: n Compost is humus. the organic portion of topsoil that provides topsoil with its richnessand fertility. n Compost provides a significant amount of non-Durmngmrrogen wnen appueo ar avY erage rates. W Compost’s ability to retain water --fíve to 10 times its weight - reducessusceptibility to drought. n The active microbes in compost improve soil texture, reduce compaction and erosion, and have been shown to suppress some diseases. n The composting processheatscompost to temperaturesthat are capable of eliminating plant pathogens,human patbogensand weed see& in a few days, and it maintains thesetemperaturesfor many weeks. With this understanding, it is easy to convey to customerstbe understandingthat compost is an outstanding soil amendment at a vety favorable ptice. Get the word out Armed with these facts, the next step is to spread the word to potential buyers. GreenCycle usesnumerous strategies. We’ve given lunchesat our sites to convince our neighbors that the composting processneed not be dirty and odorous, and that the end product is attractive. We’ve also distributed composting cuniculum kits to teachers, participated in museum events, sponsored schooi essaycontestsand donated compost to nonprofit beautification projects. Go to the customer WECANFINTHAT. Plastics maybetough,butSSIshredders areeventougher. Pre-processing with ourshredders canmeanincreased granulator throughput, lower processing costsandlessmaintenance... evenin monster applications: purgings/ti,fikrs/bales; lqe moldedobjects. H Shredders 5-500 HP n ElectrMfydraufic Drive n Increased lhroughput n Increased Nade Life n Shredder/canulator Integrated Systems Circle M Resource Recycling 179 on RR service June1997 s!stif People.Systems. Solutions. card In addition to telephone solicitation and direct saleseffort, displaying compost products at trade shows run by local or regional associations representinggolf course superintendents, landscapecontractors and turf growers has beenan effective marketing tool. Participating in shows that cover a larger area than a producer can serve has proven expensive and wasteful. Find out what the customer’s problems are. By asking, we found that one of our golf course customers was dissatisfied with the material his crew used to repair divots. We created a new product for that applica(ion, and found a completely new market. The results of these efforts is that, in Indianapolis, our most established area, the demand for compost and the prices we can command for it have risen steadily from year to year. Even low-end be marketed material can In the compost process, the residuàl from screeningfine-textured compost is generally discarded. In recycling wood products, occasional batches do not meet color, size or cleanliness standards. We’ve found we can still move this material by promoting it as “free mulch.” It is perfectly acceptable fo1 some applications, and giving it away (we charge a loading fee) creates traffic in our sales area, which frequently results in sales of other products. I at av- five SCCP- Compc&lg, as well as interest hl C5mp0stis &-easing dueto a number of factors: nez is growing recognition and appreciatjm of&e envimnmen@land m benefits of compost production and use; there a n~llS economicsW%SsStoriesfrom e&irlg compostitlgOpeKitiOllS; many com~toperationsaremakinghighq~commercially rnarketablewmpost produds; and r& cmposting industIy has successfullydevelopeda range of pmduct markets. Moreover, there is a growing recognition of the valueof wmposting as a waste-nutrientmanagement technology and as a tool for improving public health where problems have arisenfrom inadequatemanagement of organic W~S@S - particttk~ly in developing wuntries. As we en& the 21st Century and a new era of wmpost pmduction and utiI&tion, a numberof strategia can be implem for building on current successes,&d expandingfhe y0l-u of composting. ,;,&,M&&,&& products d b commer‘%iaIIlymarketednecessitatingincreasíngfoctu on prodnction of wnsistent, h&hqu& ty q$z&!. ,Development ofprodact qualitysC8naar<[email protected])wiII~ sumwnsumerc&andmotivatecom. ing, x-we I ero- press 10%to ninat1sand ltains ) CORcomlt at a ) is to ireen2 givleighnot be oduct comarticichool ) non- nd diXiLlCtS 1assointengrow;. Pal‘r area :xpenblems 3f our 1 with livots. lplicaarket. I Indihe deJe can n year 1 from ierally LS,oc;ize or ve can g itas de for ~y(we in our I sales strategj Of al1the decisionsfacing a composter, pricing (he products and services is among the most di&ult becauseof the many factors that must be considered. Tipping fees generally have to be lessthan the price at the local landfil1 - yard trimmings ban or not - unless the landfill is much farther away and trucking costsbecome a consideration. On occasion, we are flooded with an incoming material and are forced to raise the tipping price to control the flow. Product sale prices are dependent upon, among other factors, the quality of local spil. In areas where soil has a high clay content and very little organic matter, our products are much more valuable. And the more local customersuse our products. the more value they attribute to them. As a res&, our prices are increasingyear by year.though this is likely to leve1off. It should be clear that pricing decisionsare extremely dependent upon local customers. posters to market only those products that meet basic,market-specifícrequirements. The fertilizer industry, with its established customerbaseand distribution/application infrastructure, is logically poised to embrace compost as a new product line, thereby providing customers with organic and inorganic materials to meet both nutrient and soil amendmentrequirements,and creatingnew oppottunitiesfor wmpost production and sales. A key to expanding agricuItural markets for compost (i.e., where potential demand exceedspotential supply) will be to quantify the non-nutrient economic benefits of wmpost &lization. Coordination of researchefforts will avoid duplication of efforo and optimize the uses of diminishing funds available to support agricultura1 reseach. Giventhe&easedfocusonwmmerGal xnarketingof highquality wmpost pmducts,, feedstock cooperatives and coordmated co-composting operations can be estab- lished. Beyond the agronomic and envimnmental benefits, composting can addresspublic health problems resulting from inadequate organic waste managementsystems-particularly in urban areasin many developing wnmies. Improved managementof organic materials is neededglobally, asthesematerialsare essentialto maintining the viability of our soil and water resourcesand the producti+e capacityof our agricultuml and forestry systems. Composting will servean incnzasingly important role in theseefforts, provided key issuesand opportunitiesare understood ’tiunci¿ L4leamdrio. VNpulial. For more infoi Jnnovarivefztrategiesto involve citizeh in wq.L&&..$ public amGdenceia ““d production and use. In areas of concentration of organic wastes/by-products(e.g., clusters of intensive livestock production near agri-processing operations andfor municipalities), .. . Develop a pricing PEOPLE THE EARTH REALLY MACHINE. COMPOSTING COORDINATOR, CENTER FOR ECOLOGICAL TECHNOLOGY PITTSFIELD,MASS. Use it or lose it. Truer words were never spoLen when it comes to o bockyard composting program. If the residenk don’t use it, oll the benefits, environmental, economic and palitical, are iost. Residenk LOVE The Earth Mach& and they use it; because it WORKS. Conclusion Marketing compost products is no different from marketing any other product. It should be high-quality and consistent, and there must be a demonstrable,valuable use for the product. Through product education, and through product innovation based on custemer needs,a base of steady customers can be built. RR Circle 274 on RR service card Resource Recycling June 1997e