Anyone know which facility first ran an official composting program behind the fence? We piloted one in our kitchen in 2017 and now divert about 2 tons of food waste a month with sealed totes to keep pests down, but I’m curious who paved the way and what safety controls they used.
Pretty sure Cedar Creek (WA) under the Sustainability in Prisons Project was first, mid-2000s (https://sustainabilityinprisons.org). > pests down, but I’m curious who paved the way and what safety controls — they ran pre‑consumer only to a locked aerated static pile (no turning tools), logged temps >131°F with CO sign‑off, and color‑coded/weighted totes; are you logging temps or just tracking those sealed tote weights from 2017?
One thing that got our compost approved behind the fence was adding numbered tamper seals to the ‘sealed totes’ and a one-page temp log hitting 131°F for 3 days, which satisfied security and health. At 2 tons/month, we had to mix in shredded cardboard from mailroom and canteen deliveries to keep pests and moisture down. Do you have a steady brown stream you can meter in?
We added carbon-only pre-bins and daily weight logs; cut odors and convinced custody — better than just ‘sealed totes’… Track weekly weights?
Add a flat magnet bar at the scrape line and log any captures; it calmed custody way faster than just locking lids when we were moving about 2 tons/month. We also tethered compost probes with serial numbers to a tool board so temp logging didn’t become a security issue, @efrank_91. At that scale, the magnet plus a 6-inch carbon cap kept odors and contraband complaints at zero.
Pretty sure Cedar Creek Corrections Center (WA) had SPP-backed composting by ’05–06; see https://sustainabilityinprisons.org. > that scale, the magnet plus a 6-inch carbon cap kept odors and contraband complaints at zero. We got sign-off by switching to a small aerated static pile with a padlocked blower timer and a temp whiteboard visible to custody — simpler than in‑vessel units at our size; anyone recall if Rikers had something earlier?
We got sign-off after requiring each batch to hit “131°F for 3 days” and posting daily temp charts by the dock; it reassured medical and custody more than sealed lids — clip a simple log to each pile and have a CO initial it. You tracking temps yet?