<p>In this episode 8 of The Composter, I sit down with Justen Garrity from <strong>Veteran Compost</strong> and Caroline Barry from <strong>Closed Loop Partners</strong> for a wide-ranging conversation about where the composting industry is right now and where it’s headed next.</p><p>A big thread running through this conversation is Extended Producer Responsibility or EPR (no, I hadn’t heard of this before either!) and why it matters so much for composters to be part of these EPR policy discussions early and often. We dig into the realities of de-packaging, the challenges of scaling a composting business, and the mix of grants, loans, and other funding tools that can help move growth forward.</p><p>Justen Garrity founded Veteran Compost in 2010 after struggling to find work when he came back from Iraq. The tough job market turned out to be the perfect catalyst for starting up a Veteran run compost operation. Justen shares insights about the Veteran Compost operation in Maryland and Virginia. He’s also a shining example of compost policy activism.</p><p>Caroline Barry <em>is Senior Program Manager at The Closed Loop Center for the Circular Economy, an innovation firm helping businesses solve their most pressing material challenges. She leads the Composting Consortium; an industry collaboration advancing U.S. composting infrastructure and recovery of food scraps &amp; compostable packaging. In this chat </em>Caroline brings a broad systems-level perspective on expanding food scrap composting infrastructure nationwide.</p><p>Check out Veteran Compost (👊) at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.veterancompost.com/">https://www.veterancompost.com/</a></p><p>The Closed Loop Center's new website: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://closedloopcenter.com/">https://closedloopcenter.com/</a></p><p>A link to the Composting Consortium's new EPR report: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://closedloopcenter.com/reports/designing-an-epr-framework-to-include-compostable-packaging-recovery">https://closedloopcenter.com/reports/designing-an-epr-framework-to-include-compostable-packaging-recovery</a></p><p>And here is a link to the webinar from Justen on Certified Compostable Products from NERC: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nerc.org/certified-compostable-products--perspectives">https://www.nerc.org/certified-compostable-products--perspectives</a></p><p><strong>Thank you to our Show sponsors:</strong></p><p>Compost Systems of Austria: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.compost-systems.com/en">https://www.compost-systems.com/en</a></p><p>Agrilab Technologies: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://www.agrilabtech.com/podcast">www.agrilabtech.com/podcast</a></p><p>And Closed Loop: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://closedloopcenter.com/">https://closedloopcenter.com/</a></p><p><strong>Merch:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.earthcarefarm.com/store/c3/Clothing.html">https://www.earthcarefarm.com/store/c3/Clothing.html</a></p><p>Contact:</p><p>Host Jayne Merner can be reached at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> or through instagram <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/composterpodcast/">@composterpodcast</a></p>