Our
Compost Facility in Westville
We Feed the Beast
Compost
is a necessary ingredient for full, lush flower gardens and
rich productive vegetable gardens. Both compost and mulch
are by-products of things that for many years were wasted
in LaPorte County. Not so any longer.
The District’s Compost Facility located in
Westville produces “gold” from what would otherwise be waste.
We’d like to share a brief overview of how we do that.
Our grinder, known by its formal name, The
Beast, is so named because of its ability to chew up and pulverize
a tree limb, which can be 30 inches in diameter though it
is not called upon to do this often. The Beast is primarily
used to mulch wood scraps (from untreated lumber). The Beast
converts wood materials into useable mulch at a rate of 70
yards per hour.
Our Trommel screens and separates oversize
particles (utilizing the same premise as a kitchen sifter)
and converts them into compost.
The basic components of compost are:
- Leaves, wood, and yard waste
- Food scraps (vegetative)
The high nitrogen in the food scraps and grass
clippings helps to break down the leaves and wood which are
high in carbon. This becomes the perfect solution in reducing
the volume of material that would have been discarded.
The main product derived from trommelling is
high grade compost.
Our Process:
The yard waste, wood, and food scraps are mixed
together in correct proportions and then placed in wind rows.
The moisture and temperature are tested regularly which indicates
when the compost needs to be turned and watered. The wind
rows stay on the ground for approximately 6 months. To keep
track of the decomposition and maintain our high quality standards,
the wind rows are numbered with the most aged row first.
The compost is put into piles which are then
placed into the Trommel Separation Screen. The long conveyer
belt on the back removes all over sized materials; the compost
is filtered through a screen, and it is then pushed out the
side on to the smaller conveyer belt. All compost is tested
for CO2
and NH3
before leaving the site.
EVERYTHING brought into the site is recycled.
Our garden on site is maintained by one person.
When crops are harvested those crops stay on site and are
shared. All left over crops are donated to other Correctional
Facilities.
Compost/Mulch Availability
A trip to our compost site is required for mulch/compost
pickup. We process your billing information at the site and
then invoice our customers (no advance payment arrangements
needed to be made). Click here
for current pricing.
We will, of course, load your truck for you.
 |
| Pictured are Ted (left) and Joe (right)
by the compost piles. |
The hard work required to keep this site
running properly and efficiently is done by:
• Joseph D. Jokantas-Project
Coordinator, Solid Waste District of LaPorte County
• Ted Ostrega- Maintenance
Supervisor- Department of Corrections
• Vincent
Sherman - Officer - Department of Corrections
More Resources:
View our photo alblum
of the facility
