COOK COUNTY, IL – The Cook County Sheriff’s Office collected approximately 18,900 pounds of compostable waste during its first two weeks of launching its new composting pilot program in the jail’s Central Kitchen, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.
Launched August 19, the program serves as a bridge between the Cook County Department of Corrections’ (CCDOC) daily food preparation with its Urban Farming Program, which provides individuals in custody with hands-on agricultural and organic farming training. Each year, the garden program produces large quantities of fresh produce that is brought back into the community at local farmer’s markets. Now, through the composting pilot, food scraps that once went to waste will be transformed into a resource that nourishes fresh produce.
“There’s a transformative power of working with your hands and this program adds another dimension. When individuals learn to grow food, prepare meals, and return food waste back into the earth, they gain skills that foster both self-sufficiency and sustainability, a never-ending cycle,” said Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
The pilot is being carried out in partnership with WasteNot, Inc., a Chicago-based composting company dedicated to reducing greenhouse gases by diverting waste from landfills. WasteNot CEO Liam Donnelly led the initial training for Central Kitchen workers, covering composting basics, food scrap identification, and the role of composting as a sustainable practice and an employable skill.
Compost is collected three times a week and processed at WasteNot’s commercial facility. Finished compost will return in the spring to support the jail’s longstanding Urban Farming and Garden programs.
For over 25 years, the garden program has provided over 50 tons of fresh produce to non-profits, taught horticulture to more than 500 individuals in custody, certified more than 200 Master Gardeners, and brought money to the jail to fund programs.
To learn more about CCDOC’s enrichment programs, visit our website here.
-30-