COMPOSTING - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Organics Management Specialist - Director of Maine Compost School

Mark is a native of New Sharon, Maine, where he enjoys spending time hunting and fishing. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the University of Maine and a Master's Degree in Zoology from Southern Illinois University. In 1991, Mark started working with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection as an Environmental Specialist. In 1993, he joined the Maine Compost Team ( a collaborative interagency group consisting of representatives from the Maine DEP, Department of Agriculture, State Planning Office, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension) where he developed an expertise in composting. In 1997, Mark served as one of the founders of the internationally acclaimed, "Maine Compost School", and currently serves as Director, as well as actively participating in course instruction. In 2015, Mark became a USDA Subject Matter Expert (SME) in mortality composting and has deployed all over the country to manage agricultural mortalities generated from animal disease, natural disasters and routine mortalities as well. He has also developed a specialty in storm debris management and was invited to assist the US Virgin Islands government following the devastating hurricanes the islands experienced in 2017. Lately Mark's work has been concentrated on finding solutions to deal with our ever-growing wasted food crisis and the emerging contaminant- PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and their impacts on composting. Mark provides on-going technical assistance to new and existing compost facilities through facility siting and design support, operations assistance, and compost process trouble-shooting. Mark has worked with all levels of compost facility size and design, and has developed an expertise with medium and large-scale facilities. Currently, he is promoting statewide composting of pre and post-consumer food residuals as an alternative to costly landfill disposal.

Ron Slater, Sandy River Recycling Association (SRRA, Farmington)-After completing our October 1997 session, Ron decided to develop a composting operation to augment his recycling efforts. Representing 21 Western Maine communities, SRRA has always been a leader in new ideas. Ron worked with Maine DEP and State Planning Office to design and sight a turned windrow compost facility.