Brenda Platt

Brenda Platt directs the Composting for Community Initiative at the national nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where she has worked 36 years promoting zero waste, non-burn solutions to trash. Her current focus is advancing community-scale options such as composting at homes, community gardens, and farms. She emphasizes the power of compost to enhance soils, protect the climate, and foster healthy communities. She has authored numerous reports including Stop Trashing the Climate and Growing Local Fertility: A Guide to Community Composting, and has worked on local, state, and federal policy to support local composting. Brenda is a trained composter and trains others. She is nationally known for her work documenting the jobs through reuse, recycling, and composting. In 2017, the US Composting Council awarded her its H. Clark Gregory Award for outstanding service to the composting industry through grassroots efforts. In 2022, the U.S. EPA recognized ILSR for its community composting work to divert wasted food in the Mid-Atlantic region. Brenda as a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The George Washington University.