TURTLECREEK TWP. — Officials at a state-run prison here said they are saving taxpayers thousands of dollars annually through green initiatives, including turning the prison’s food waste over to an organic gardening company for composting.

“It doesn’t always look pretty, but the results are good,” said Tim Brunsman, warden of the Lebanon Correctional Institution, standing amidst more than a dozen bags of sorted trash. Two inmates, Larry Chapman and Carson Jones, are sorting all the solid trash in the prison, separating paper, plastic and aluminum products into different bags that the prison will then sell to a recycling center.

Last year, the prison was able to make the state of Ohio $13,000 through the selling of recyclable goods, Brunsman said. He estimated the same steps saved the state $6,100 because of less trash that needed to be hauled away.

Prison officials at LCI are adding onto that program this year by no longer discarding food wastes. Instead, the food is taken to Marvin’s Organic Gardens, a nearby organic landscaping and nursery company in Turtlecreek Twp. that uses the food waste to make compost. Marvin’s charges the prison approximately 1/3 of the price to take the food garbage that Rumpke, the prison’s waste disposer, charged, Brunsman said.

In 2011, the prison paid $5,700 per month on average to have garbage removed. In March 2011, the first full month of implementing the food waste separation, the prison paid only $2,400 in garbage removal.

Brunsman said the recycling program has also created between 30 to 35 inmate jobs.

“It’s important because if we keep them busy, we’re keeping them out of trouble,” Brunsman said.

Chapman said the job of sorting trash isn’t fun, but he appreciates having something to do.

“My children are really into helping the earth,” Chapman said. “When they heard I was in the recycling program, they got very excited and told me I had to do it.”

“It’s the first prison in the state to my knowledge that is composting its food waste,” said Wes Duren, manager of Marvin’s Organic Gardens.

Duren said that although Marvin’s Organic Gardens (named for Duren’s father) receives food waste from several companies, LCI is the only place to handle all the separating itself and that the prison sells “the cleanest product” Marvin’s receives.

“We save so much time when we don’t have to go through the trash ourselves ,” Duren said.

The food waste is mixed with other biodegradable waste, resulting in a rich compost in about six months. The compost is used to grow the best-looking yards, richest flower beds and healthiest vegetable gardens, Duren said.

“We are very excited to see the success of the program at Lebanon along with the positive results being seen (at other prisons),” said Mike Davis, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

“These projects are a benefit to the institutions, the offenders and the environment. Offenders involved in these projects are learning valuable skills while at the same time they are contributing something of value to the community.”

Both Duren and Brunsman are hoping to continue to collaborate by having Duren lead a gardening program at LCI. “It would bring the whole thing full-circle by having LCI’s compost come back to the prison and start growing gardens there,” Duren said. “I’m looking forward to it because it could teach valuable life skills to the inmates. ... With luck, they can serve the food they grow at the prison.”