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County Administrator Ron Robinson requested $5,000 from the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District board to make the program work.
"I know people have a hard time knowing what to do with all the carcasses laying around the streets," Robinson said.
An old duck house donated by a local company will hold the animals. The building has a concrete floor, and movable bunkers will be built inside. The bunkers are 4 feet at back and taper off to 3 feet. There will be no problems with run-off, Robinson said. No big expenses for the building are expected.
"We're going to use help from the jail to get this building ready," Robinson said.
The site will use sawdust to compost the dead animals. Six inches of sawdust will be laid down and then the carcasses will be placed on top of the sawdust. The bodies will then be covered with sawdust and left for 90 days and then turned. The bodies will then be put in another pile and covered for an additional 90 days. The compost will be disposed of by being putting it on fields, Robinson said.
"So far we're not regulated by any requirements," Robinson said.
The county will furnish the sawdust and a private company will furnish the manpower and the building site to house the composting facility, but Marsha Eikenberry, SWMD director, did not know the name of the company. The county and Warsaw animal control officers will be able to take animals found along roads there.
Eikenberry told the board, "I sent Ron a letter saying we did have $5,000 if the board approved that."
The board approved the request for $5,000.
Board member Kathryn Teel said, "I think it'll be really important for us to go into something like this."
The location of the composting site and the local company involved was not disclosed at the meeting.
In other business, Eikenberry asked the board if they thought she should pursue the formation of a public/private partnership with Superior Excavating. She said Superior Excavating wants to concentrate on improving and expanding the composting operation at their site and they currently have the only county-wide permitted site.
The company also would like the KCSWMD to submit a grant on their behalf for heavy construction equipment.
"It's never been very successful because people don't want to take their compost there," Eikenberry said.
Jim May said, "One way that you could get the outlaying community to participate is to have a site in their community."
A slight charge would have to be included somewhere, Eikenberry said. "To see a profit, (Superior Excavating) is going to have to charge something. He's also going to make money from selling (the compost) off."
Re-appointed board President Avis Gunter told Eikenberry, "Why don't you pursue it and see where it might lead."
The board told Eikenberry that the board would not provide money but would be willing to seek grant money for the program if the details are worked out and both sides agree to an arrangement.
The city advisory also met with five candidates for the position of education coordinator. The education coordinator will develop, enhance and implement district education programs that will help the district meet the requirements of its solid waste plan and the state's goal of a 50 percent reduction in the amount of trash dumped in Indiana landfills by 2001. Duties include developing materials and programs targeted at elementary, middle and high schools around the county.
A final selection was not named at the meeting.
The Paper Recycling Day scheduled for Jan. 9 but canceled because of weather will not be rescheduled. The next paper recycling day will be April 10 at Lewis Salvage.
Winona Lake received a $6,000 grant for public education about their Pay As You Throw and curbside recycling program, which is tentatively scheduled to begin in March. A brochure has been drafted and will be mailed to each town resident. A second grant requesting curbside containers for each household was submitted Dec. 30 and the KCSWMD is waiting approval.
