WOOSTER, Ohio -- The 2012 Ohio Compost Operator Education Course takes place March 21-22 at the Shisler Conference Center at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Ave., in Wooster.
It’s a comprehensive program for people who work in the composting industry, including compost facility operators, public health officials, farmers, nursery managers, municipal solid waste managers and others.
Registration costs $175 for members of the Organics Recycling Association of Ohio and $225 for non-members. Continental breakfast, lunch and materials are included. The registration deadline is March 13.
Hours are 8:15 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on the first day and 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on the second.
For more information and to register, contact Mary Wicks, 330-202-3533, wicks.14@osu.edu, or go to http://go.osu.edu/HaJ (pdf).
To join ORAO and receive the discount registration rate, contact Linda Robertson, director@ohiocompost.org.
Among the course’s topics:
- Composting principles, biology and methods.
- Mixing raw materials.
- Site design and management.
- Lab exercises (sampling and testing, effect of turning, compost properties, fan efficiency, optimizing mixing ratios).
- Managing an operation (compost stability, composting regulations, methods to minimize odor).
- Economics and utilization (composting economics and utilization, organic mulches in ornamental landscapes, value-added utilization of compost).
The instructors are composting experts from industry and from Ohio State University, including from OARDC.
Participants are eligible for the following continuing education credits: 13.0 hours, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency Waste Water Certification; and 11.0 hours, Registered Sanitarians.
OARDC is the research arm of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and is the largest university agbiosciences research center in the U.S.
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Photo credit: Pennsylvania State University.