Certified Compostable Products: Perspectives
December 11th, 2025 | 1:30 - 3:00 PM ET
This webinar will examine the role of certified compostable products in the waste stream and their impact on composting infrastructure and MRFs. We’ll explore regional differences in management approaches, recent legislation like Colorado’s labeling requirements, and challenges such as public confusion, lack of home compostable options, and the need for a clear visual identity. Panelists will also discuss solutions to overcome barriers to effective use and recovery.
Meet our Speakers:
Toby Alves, Product and Zero Waste Specialist, Eco-Products
Toby Alves is a Product and Zero Waste Specialist with Eco-Products covering the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. He is passionate about developing successful post-consumer food scrap composting programs. Toby has sold soil amendments, hauled and composted food scraps and operates a diversified farm with his family in the western mountains of Maine. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture and Agronomy from the University of New Hampshire and is a certified TRUE Advisor.
Justen Garrity, Founder and President, Veteran Compost
Justen Garrity is the Founder and President of Veteran Compost. Since 2010, the company employs veterans and family members of veterans to collect and compost food scraps from residential, office and commercial customers throughout Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia . Justen serves on the Board of Directors for the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and also chairs their Composter Committee. He has graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Penn State, and Sapper School.
Dan Goossen, Director of Organics Recycling, Chittenden Solid Waste District
Dan Goossen is the Director of Organics Recycling at the Chittenden Solid Waste District in Williston, Vermont. Dan started getting his hands dirty at Intervale Compost in 2003 and has been managing the renamed compost facility since 2008. He spends a lot time behind the scenes but is most happy at work on those occasions when he gets to climb a mountain of compost or run heavy equipment. Dan is the current board president of the Composting Association of Vermont. When not at work, Dan enjoys growing food, exploring Latin America, and spending time with his family.
Melissa Filiaggi, Division Chief of Operations, Maryland Environmental Service
Melissa Filiaggi has over twelve years of experience in the solid waste industry. In her role as Division Chief of Operations, she oversees award winning facilities, including a 75,000 ton per year material recovery facility, a 70,000 ton per year organics composting facility (including over 15,000 tons of food scraps), a 10-million-gallon leachate pretreatment facility and a statewide durable medical equipment refurbishment program. In addition, she oversees the sales of recovered commodities and compost from facilities throughout Maryland, with annual revenues that exceed 12 million dollars. In prior positions, Ms. Filiaggi has worked in public education, recycling outreach and education, permitting, site and operational planning, safety and all other aspects of the solid waste industry.
Ms. Filiaggi has a master’s and bachelor’s degree in biology from Towson University where she studied frogs in the Peruvian Amazon. Ms. Filiaggi was selected as a 40 Under 40 award recipient in 2019, served on the board of the Maryland Recycling Network for ten years, and is a current board member of the United States Composting Council.
