A very interesting idea worth consideration which appears to make good use of landfill and good work for criminals.
Jail recycle center proposed; Plan uses inmates to sort county trash
Erica Curless Staff writer
Spokesman Review (Spokane, WA)
August 9, 2007
Recycling could solve Kootenai County's critical crowded jail problem, extend the life of the county landfill and perhaps save taxpayer money.
Sheriff Rocky Watson and Solid Waste Director Roger Saterfiel are pitching an innovative plan to build a new jail next to the county's soon-to-be- built garbage transfer station off Pleasant View Road, just west of Post Falls.
Inmates - likely those already sentenced by the courts - would live at the new jail and work in an on-site recyclables sorting center.
There are no details yet, but Watson envisions a conveyor belt running garbage into the jail for guarded inmates to sort. From there, plastics, paper and cardboard would be dumped down chutes into trucks or railcars for transport to recycling plants.
Saterfiel said at least half of the 600 tons of garbage that residents and businesses bring to the existing transfer station on Ramsey Road each day is recyclable. Yet it's too expensive for county workers to sort out materials that can be recycled.
That leaves the county with a weak program, especially when so many residents are asking for more recycling, Saterfiel said. And the Fighting Creek Landfill south of Coeur d'Alene will fill up years sooner than originally anticipated, he said.
So far, the Kootenai County Commission thinks the proposal has merit and needs further study. On Tuesday, Commissioner Todd Tondee said the commission was researching some "pretty good solutions" to the jail-crowding situation, but he declined to provide details, saying he wants to ensure it's feasible before making it widely known.
