After receiving concerns from a reader about Full Circle Soils and Compost being repeatedly highlighted for using prison labor, we reached out to the local company, and were initially emailed back by Cody Witt, indicating he was on vacation.
Witt appears on the Full Circle website as the Northern Nevada manager. A 2023 article with a picture of him in front of a giant pile of compost indicated equipment replacement at the Northern Nevada Correctional Center in Carson City triggered “an air quality permit review from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.”
It indicated Nevada Organics LLC was doing business as Full Circle Compost.
After his scheduled return, we wrote back to Witt, but instead of hearing from him, we got an email from W.C. “Bill” Quenga, a public information officer with the Nevada Department of Corrections, indicating “all offenders work alongside non-offender employees at the composting site learning skills of organic materials management, compost processing, bagged materials production, heavy machinery operation, mechanic skills, and many other real-world job skills.”
The email said the partnership provided a fair wage, although didn’t specify what that was, job training and the opportunity for employment upon release.
“Nevada Organics partners with other public organizations and municipalities to recycle organic waste diverted from the landfill to meet the 25% recommend State of Nevada recycling rate. The manures collected at the Silver State Industries Ranch and organic materials are blended and cooked to create compost, soils, and mulches for use by public and private organizations,” it concluded.
The use of prison labor raises concerns on the lack of adequate wages, workplace protections, guarantees that the work provided is voluntary, and the undercutting of other businesses. The reader who prompted our own query wrote to us in part "that labor is so cheap that other companies can’t compete when paying competitive prices to actual employees."
The company’s use of prison labor has been highlighted in multiple news reports and newsletters including one from Whole Foods which gushed how “they use inmate labor to run the compost farm and the nursery. The prisoners get fresh air, learn job skills and get to eat all the fresh salad they want!”
The reader who pointed this out to us wasn’t as enthusiastic. What are your own views on using prison labor for a locally sold product?