U.S. Composting Council (USCC) members from the state of New Jersey have affiliated with the USCC as an official state Charter Chapter. The N.J. Composting Council (NJCC) is a nonprofit focused on promoting the composting and organics recycling industry in New Jersey.

The organizers of the NJCC work in the consulting, nonprofit, public education and legal fields. The organizing Board of Trustees includes: Ryan Cerrato of WeCare Denali Organics, Corinne Coe of Sustainable Generation, Gary Cooper of South Jersey Agricultural Products, Erik Gutt of Vermeer North Atlantic, Matthew Karmel of Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti LLP and Jairo E. Gonzalez of Waste ProGreen. Gonzalez also will serve as the president of the NJCC; Michael Recchia of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP will serve as treasurer; and Isaac Bearg, a management consultant, will serve as secretary.

"Our newly installed trustees and officers have diverse experience in the composting and organics recycling industry, and NJCC plans to leverage this experience for the benefit of our members and all of New Jersey," said Gonzalez in a statement.

The new group welcomes all New Jersey businesses and residents involved in the compost manufacturing and organics recycling industry and allied organizations. The group has begun to build a coalition of industry members within New Jersey and will continue to recruit members in 2019.

The NJCC also plans to focus in 2019 on educating state regulators, local officials and the public about the importance of the compost and organics recycling industry to New Jersey's environment and its economy and on advocating for regulations and legislation that benefit the industry and the market for compost in the state.

"The NJCC has put together the resources and the organizational structure to become a powerful force in New Jersey in their outreach to state regulators and legislators in their state," said Frank Franciosi, USCC executive director, in a statement. "These efforts are critically important in a state with a shortage of organics recycling capacity."