NAMPA, Idaho — Of the many specialized systems Timber Creek Recycling uses, the aerated static pile is one of Mike Murgoitio’s favorites.

The streamlined composting system, which decomposes covered materials by piping air into them, resembles a giant air hockey table.

“It’s the first in Idaho at this massive a scale, and it’s automated,” said Murgoitio, who owns Timber Creek. “The probes run off of Wi-Fi and a computer runs the system.”

Another favorite is a custom-designed de-packager that separates food from packaging material such as plastic so both can be repurposed safely. He and his team plan to construct a building to house the de-packager by year’s end.

“Food waste is full of nitrogen and other nitrates that can enrich soils,” Murgoitio said. “You have ample supply and technology just came out to clean out 99% of plastics.”

Timber Creek, which employs 55 people, bridges gaps between southwest Idaho’s food-production roots and its recent urbanization. Agriculture and construction contribute significantly to revenue.

“I love learning new things every day,” said Murgoitio, a farmer and former professional sprint car driver. “And the industry is providing lots of innovation. We are innovating along with it.”

Timber Creek in the past year opened a facility in Nampa to go along with its Meridian site, a former dairy that has operated in its current form for more than 12 years.

The business in two years or so plans to vacate the Meridian site, to which residential development moved closer over the years. A replacement site likely will be up and running within five years, Murgoitio said.

“We could probably get away with consolidation in Nampa for a few years, but we need another site to accommodate customers’ needs,” he said.

Meanwhile, business growth in Nampa has exceeded expectations.

“The Nampa facility has state-of-the-art processes,” including food waste de-packaging and aerated static pile composting, “where we knew Meridian was short-term and so we took an old-school approach,” Murgoitio said. The Meridian operation grew incrementally as opportunities arose and equipment was added, whereas “it is much more refined in Nampa.”

He takes the urbanization-driven need to retire the Meridian site in stride.

“It’s part of the transitional approach,” Murgoitio said. “It’s bumpy when you are taking on some ag processes and modernizing them.”

Coming from a family of agriculture producers and ag service providers, he retains a farmer’s optimism and flexibility.

“My family has been here since 1912 and we have seen a lot of change come into the valley,” he said. “And one thing my family always has been good at is not resisting, but refining how we are involved within the community. We’re here to be part of the community in whatever capacity we can serve.”

“This is livestock and farming,” Murgoitio said of Timber Creek, which offers numerous recycling services and products from recycled materials.”

“We track with what the Idaho industry needs,” he said. “When a customer challenges us with a problem, it is our pleasure to tackle the difficult challenges they have with their waste.”

Working with Timber Creek and its customers is “somewhat like an Easter egg hunt,” said Mike Volgamore, regional sales manager. “A lot of opportunities come at you. We find where and how to use something.”

Revenue from food recycling can grow by a long-term annual average of 10%, accounting for swings in southwest Idaho growth and development, Murgoitio said. In food waste recycling, growth could be 40% a year given supply, need and opportunity, “but it’s really, really hard to do it right. You have startup cost and heavy regulation.”

Food is a big source of waste, and “it’s amazing how fast America is changing to a sustainability mindset,” said Tyler Anderson, inbound account manager. “The need is there. The technology is behind or in its infancy, but it has changed a lot in the last 10 years.”

As for composting, “it’s great to see how much more that be done,” he said. “Fertilizer used to be cheap. You did not have to be as efficient.” Compost is “a way to make your soil more efficient.”

Compost is manufactured through the controlled aerobic, biological decomposition of biodegradable materials, according to the U.S. Composting Council. The process includes exposure to moderate and high temperatures, which reduces pathogen viability and weed seeds and stabilizes carbon so that it is beneficial to plant growth.

Timber Creek is one of several operations in Idaho using state-of-the-art technology for biosolids composting on a sizable scale, said Terry Alber, biosolids/pretreatment coordinator with the state Department of Environmental Quality. The department reviews required compliance management plans and can provide compliance assistance.

Composting can keep material out of landfills and provide a soil amendment that boosts water retention and reduces compaction, he said.

An alternative to composting is to apply biosolids directly to soils, typically done in large-scale environments.

Increasingly, farmers and ranchers are becoming more aware of soil health and its importance, Murgoitio said.

Rex Hoagland, a cow-calf producer in the Melba area, recently used a composted, fine-textured Timber Creek bedding product following heavy rains in March.

“We had major problems in our holding yard,” he said. The product “tightened our manure so we could stack it and haul it really quickly.”

The bedding was cheaper per unit than corn stalk or straw bales, Hoagland said. And since it was fine and dry it was lighter, which made meeting land-application poundage limits much easier.

He also uses a Timber Creek crushed concrete product for various purposes.

North of Eagle, Idaho, Berries on Ballantyne owner Jay Shatto applies a Timber Creek compost.

“This will be our eighth season. Definitely it has been a big improvement,” Shatto said. Soil health and berry yield increased.

“It’s given me the nutrients I need along with other help,” he said. “I’m trying to keep organic stuff in the ground.”

Timber Creek customers have used crushed concrete for walkways and roads, Murgoitio said. Aggregate also can be made of crushed concrete and lava rock — for many farmers a challenge in the field and ultimately a waste product.In agriculture, the business looks for “organic material in many forms, whether packaged or unpackaged,” he said.

Composts, mulches and bedding are among on-farm product offerings, as are potential feed components — on which the company runs a total digestible nutrients test to determine suitability and potential nutritional benefits.

“We try to educate customers on what different materials we have that will meet their needs, and also materials they can put in to improve soil,” Murgoitio said.

In his childhood and youth, he watched his father and grandfather come up with innovative ways to feed cows.

“And they taught me that who you work with is important,” said Murgoitio, 41. “We always had a lot of good help when I was growing up. They worked hard and we had fun. Everybody enjoyed what they did, which is key.”