MERIDIAN, Idaho — Timber Creek Recycling plans to expand in southwest Idaho partly to serve its growing agriculture segment.

The 12-year-old business occupies 40 acres in Meridian. Owner Mike Murgoitio said he expects an additional 33-acre site to open by year’s end in Nampa, northeast of the Amalgamated Sugar plant, and to be in full operation by March.

He said the supply of organic material, including food waste and compostables, has grown.

“The waste streams of the (Treasure) Valley are growing, and with the percentage of volume there is now, it justifies a facility to handle that type of waste,” Murgoitio said.

The Nampa site is closer to some of these materials, such as food processing and other farm waste that goes to landfills because it falls short of animal feed standards. Timber Creek will compost it for use as a soil amendment.

Murgoitio said compost improves various soil properties, including compositional elements, structure and active biology. And since it holds about 20 times its weight in water, it can boost soil moisture.

He said more frequent dry years, development of farmland into other uses, and other factors mean water “will become more of a concern. And so will increasing the water-holding capacity of soil.”

Murgoitio expects composting to be an important component of soil health, in which he sees increased interest.

Manure holds water in soil but can interact counterproductively over time if not handled properly. Timber Creek analyzes and manages it, optimizes it biologically and composts it. Dairies are among his customers.

Different composts target farm, garden or golf course uses. Murgoitio said compost demand rose and stockpiles shrank due to high fertilizer prices.

More than two dozen Timber Creek trucks deliver compost.

The business also makes and markets livestock bedding and mulch. It recycles and custom-grinds construction waste and other materials. It took some onions that otherwise could not be used following damage to packing sheds during the heavy winter of 2016-17.

About a dozen congressional staffers visited the Meridian complex Aug. 31 as part of a Leadership Idaho Agriculture Foundation tour. Murgoitio said the business was started based on the supply needs of his family’s farm, though farmers increasingly see recycling as a way to be good stewards of land.

Timber Creek last year recycled about 200 million pounds of material not including dairy manure. He expects this year’s total revenue to increase by about 18%.

The business employs 40 and eventually will add about 12 in Nampa.

Sites will complement each other, and “some redundancy is always good,” Murgoitio said.

Nampa will have a bigger selection of bagged material and other retail products. Its composting system will handle more challenging inputs, like commercial food waste.

Murgoitio said the Nampa facility will feature recycled wood and concrete from a feedlot he operated in southeast Meridian until the site was redeveloped about two years ago.

A project cost estimate was not released.