school administrators or the State Board of Education. An easy to implement action could be to “ develop International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW)…activities for schools.” In additional to continuing to provide and improve materials on the how and why of composting groups considered what types of new materials should be developed including testimonials from industry peers, case studies on the economics of composting, and more publicly available compost demonstration . Action could also be taken to create more resources for home composters for troubleshooting such as "create short + informative video highlighting common mistakes to avoid " and "411 type phone # or texting service for composting" (formally called the Rotline in Chicago when the city had a home composting program). Education actions were also identified to improve composting services by educating those writing and approving waste hauling contracts about what should be in the contract and increasing transparency so that everyone (municipalities, haulers, and households) can easily obtain the answer to the questions "where is the food waste going exactly?" and “what can composters accept?” A list of comments on Education Actions are displayed in Table 10, Appendix 1. INFRASTRUCTURE actions included ways to improve the composting ecosystem especially by increasing access to drop off and pick up programs , as well as ensuring that the programs are more equitable and accessible to all residents, regardless of their ability to pay. To support infrastructure, actions to be taken include increasing public awareness by creating and promoting compost maps and directories by using resources such as "Google Maps for showcasing businesses that compost," 5 holding more events like Pumpkin Smashes or compost giveback days and developing ad campaigns. It was noted that these types of efforts strengthen and support composting’s social infrastructure . To drive usage and demand for compost possible actions included encouraging increased usage on farms (either through incentives, subsidizes, or education) and in public works projects, and motivating residents and businesses to use and make compost and separate their organic waste. Policy was often viewed as a way to mobilize action for infrastructure whether it was creating "supportive equitable well written policy for farmers to be involved in compost as a business model" or to " make spray fertilizer less affordable.” Also suggested were policies to promote compost usage, the idea being that increased use will drive the expansion of compost production facilities. Comments such as “companies adding amended soil to large sites I-DOT Construction or other County municipalities, institutions universities corps" and " tax incentives for landscapers +topsoil producers to bring in compost " are examples of how policy could support infrastructure growth. Finally, streamlining the process of compost creation and improving compost products especially by working on “compost quality standard's testing .” Developing demonstration and research that compares compost products, blends, and mixes to support claims on the benefits of usage for highway construction, farms, and landscape use are also actions that could be taken to support the development of compost infrastructure.
A list of comments on Infrastructure Actions are displayed in Table 11, Appendix 1.
5 Note: IFSCC already has a resource like this https://illinoiscomposts.org/we-compost/
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