Permitting a composting, chip & grind, or anaerobic digestion facility is a complicated process in California. As many as five major permits (and multiple smaller permits) may be required. Matthew Cotton has permitted dozens of solid waste facilities (including some of California’s largest composting facilities), and understands the permitting and approval process.
Odor is perhaps the Achilles’ heel of the Composting Industry and Matthew Cotton has been involved in numerous activities to help alleviate this challenge. Mr. Cotton was involved in crafting California’s Odor Impact Minimization Plan (OIMP) process and wrote the template plan that is on the CalRecycle website. He has written and revised over 40 OIMPs and provides hands on technical assistance to compost facility operators. He was a co-author of the Comprehensive Compost Odor Response Project funded by CalRecycle.
Matthew Cotton conducts important research on the organics industry, from studying compost infrastructure to researching the fate of compostable plastics, and the GHG impacts of applying compost to agricultural soils, as well as many other projects.
Some recent projects can be found at these links:
Composting Facilities don't require written Fire Plans in CA (like C&D processing facilities do), but having a written fire plan is a good idea for any facility handling large quantities of dry organic matter. Matthew Cotton has written approved fire plans for composting, chip & grind, and C&D facilities, and is familiar with practical BMPs and operational practices which help mitigate the risk of fire at these types of facilities.
Matthew Cotton has developed and teaches training programs for the US Composting Council (USCC), the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), the California Resource Recovery Association (CRRA), as well as for private facilities. He teaches the Foundations of Composting Course (co-developed with Robert Rynk) around the US and International locations.. He is the lead instructor for the USCC's 40-hour Compost Operator Training Course.
Procurement Status for the State
SB 1383 at Work, Southern California SWANA Chapter,
Frank Bowerman Landfill, Irvine, CA, June 15, 2023.
Instructor: SWANA’s Managing Compost Programs,
Western Regional Symposium, Monterey, CA, April 3rd – 6th, 2023.
Instructor: USCC’s 40-Hour Compost Operator Training Course
Pomona, California, March 27th – 31st, 2023.
Planning and Setting Up a Composting Operation
The Great Australian Composting Roadshow, various locations,
March 6th – 17th, 2023.
Connecting Compost Emissions to the Composting Process
USCC Annual Conference, Ontario, California, January 25, 2023.
Co-Instructor: Foundations of Composting
USCC Annual Conference, Ontario, California, January 24, 2023.
