Reduce Waste

Reduce

Food waste

Food waste

A few facilities have switched from milk cartons to bulk milk dispensers, greatly reducing their waste. Coyote Ridge Corrections Center removed paper towel dispensers in the living unit wash rooms, replacing them with efficient electric hand dryers. Not only has this also reduced their garbage, but it’s saved them $2,000 a month in paper towel costs. Larch Corrections Center went to a bag-less garbage system, instead rinsing out the cans between uses. This keeps 20,000 bags out of the landfill and saves $7,500 in bag costs each year.

Reuse

Pallet wood is used to makes toys and other crafts for donations to charities, or split and given as kindling (packed in five-gallon buckets from the kitchen) to local residents in need.  Sandbags and strawberry planters have been made from old pant legs. Correctional Industries has business operations focused on refurbishing old furniture and stripping and repainting aluminum highway signs.

Baled recyclables

Baled recyclables

Recycle

DOC facilities have very active recycling programs – recycling everything from aluminum cans to wooden pallets. More than 2,500 tons was recycled in Fiscal Year 2006. In addition to keeping these valuable materials in the manufacturing loop, DOC also avoided more than $200,000 in disposal fees. Many of the earnings on recycled materials go in the offender betterment fund.

Compost

Five of 15 DOC prisons have composting programs for food waste. In Fiscal Year 2006, these facilities composted more than 1,300 tons of waste, producing nutrient rich soil amendment while avoiding $100,000 in disposal fees.

Compost facility at OCC

Compost facility at OCC

2006 Recycler of the Year

DOC won the Washington State Recycling Association’s 2006 Recycler of the Year Award for a Government Agency for its waste reduction and recycling efforts.

Get more details on our sustainability goals (PDF) and progress (PDF).

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