Iowa Inmates May Soon Make Own Toilet Paper
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa prisoners could soon be making their own toilet paper to save taxpayers money and provide jobs.
The Des Moines Register says inmates at prisons in Anamosa and Mitchellville are testing a single-ply tissue processed at a Missouri prison.
Iowa Prison Industries Director Roger Baysden says there have been no complaints about the product from the Cross Roads Correctional Center at Cameron, Mo.
Iowa inmates already make dozens of products, including license plates and office furniture. Baysden says inmates could start processing toilet paper next year — if the Legislature supports the idea.
Iowa's nine prisons use about 900,000 rolls of toilet paper annually. Processing it in-house would save about $100,000 a year compared with buying it from a vendor. It would also create jobs for about 50 inmates.
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