The La Porte County Solid Waste District’s compost site received high marks during its annual Indiana Department of Environmental Management inspection, with inspectors noting no violations. Inspector Cheryl Satkus noted in her Oct. 17 report that the site is “very well organized and well maintained.”
“She was very impressed with the facility and stated if someone wanted to learn how to successfully run a compost site, she would send them here,” said Troy Taylor, site director.
The permit issued to the compost site, located at the Westville Correctional Facility, has been renewed through September 2017.
The compost site accepts vegetative matter, defined as any yard or landscaping waste including leaves, grass, brush, limbs and branches. Taylor and his crew from Westville Correctional reduce them down into products including compost, mulch and debarked firewood, all available for sale to the public at low cost. All of that is done facing the challenge of an ever-changing workforce, Taylor said.
“There are times I train an individual on a Monday and he leaves the very next week. There are other times when I don’t have a work crew at all,” he said. “The correctional officer that works with me, Vince Sherman, has been a huge asset in helping the site become, as the IDEM inspector stated, the best run site she has seen.”
Cary Kirkham, president of the Solid Waste District’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee, toured the site along with IDEM and he said he was pleased with the outcome. “The site is always busy and it’s very clean,” he said. “Troy does a terrific job out there.”
For more information on the compost facility, including hours and pricing, visit http://www.solidwastedistrict.com/programs/compost.html, or call (219) 785-2511 ext. 4935 or ext. 4235.