R.I. Corrections Dept. goes green

CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) - The Facilities and Maintenance Department within the Rhode Island Department of Corrections has gone green.

Associate Director Anthony Feole announced the new department-wide recycling program has already generated $9,400 for the department.

Feole has said both the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH) have already shown interest in the program.

The program comes under a widely known term in the corrections field of "sustainable corrections," which applies to "saving money by reducing energy and water consumption through the use of energy efficient appliances in correctional facilities and through the use of inmate labor in recycling programs."

Feole said under that practice, buildings at the Adult Correctional Institute have started to be renovated and parts of the buildings recycled.

“We’re stripping right down to the original building,” Feole noted, “eliminating multiple layered systems that would likely become problematic.”

All wiring, plumbing, and construction materials from the renovations will be recycled and the inmates are helping with the removal of those materials.

Miles of old wiring has been collected and recycled and even grass clippings are being collected and turned into loom to be used around the facility.

Both items are first brought to the new recycling center on the grounds, which was formerly used as a dumping ground for all of the other buildings around the prison complex. Some of the items are reused and recycled there, while others are picked up by outside vendors who will use them.