USCC

United States Composting Council

Composting at commercial compost operations, gardening centers and back yard bins all depend on microbiological processes to transform the input materials into compost.

Quality is not inherent to compost. For producers looking to sell their compost, assuring the customer of the performance characteristics and ultimately the quality of their product is key.

Given the significant range of materials and conditions in which these processes occur, quality assurance establishes a baseline for what the product is and how it can benefit the consumer.

USCC STA

The USCC STA (United States Compost Council Seal of Testing Assurance) is one step in the effort to set standards for quality compost products.

As a certification standard, the USSC STA can be used by producers to assure their customers that the product they are selling or using has been tested for a number of meaningful performance characteristics.

The performance characteristics tested using USCC STA include microbial pathogens, toxic metals, plant vigor, micro-nutrients (NPK), pH, organic matter, stability, and conductivity (soluble salts).

With this range of test results in hand, compost producers will have a more complete understanding of their compost product. Producers will often screen their product throughout the season to ensure consistent results.

For more information about USCC STA Compost Testing, contact the lab at 847-483-9950 or info@situtest.com