The Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County will help Porter County residents with their spring cleaning by providing a One Stop Drop collection event that will accept old and unwanted tires, appliances, electronics, media, and household hazardous waste.
The collection will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 17, at the Porter County Expo Center/Fair Grounds, 215 E. Division Road, Valparaiso. Attendees should enter Gate 3.
Restrictions or fees may apply. For more information, call the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County, 465-3694, or visit www.ItMeansTheWorld.org to learn more.
The Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission will be at the event to present a limited supply of new environmentally friendly 2.5-gallon gas cans to residents who bring their old gas cans in for disposal. Limit one new gas can per vehicle/family, while supplies last.
Porter County residents can dispose of their first four tires up to 20 inches for free at the One Stop Drop. The disposal fee for each additional tire up to 20 inches is $3. Residents can dispose of tires from 20 to 25 inches for $5 each, and tires over 25 inches for $15 each.
Appliances accepted include refrigerators, stoves, dish and clothes washers, dryers, water heaters, air conditioners, freezers, humidifiers and dehumidifiers, furnaces, and just about anything metal. Water softener holding tanks will not be accepted.
According to Indiana law, households can no longer mix unwanted computer monitors, computers, televisions, printers, computer peripherals (such as keyboards and mice), DVD players, video cassette recorders, or fax machines with trash that is intended for disposal at a landfill or intended for disposal by burning or incineration.
Electronics can contain lead and other toxic materials that pose serious threats to human health if not disposed of properly. Porter County residents can bring their old electronic devices to the May 17 event for safe disposal. Accepted items include anything with electrical cords or run by batteries.
Residents can also unload all of their old media, such as video cassettes, DVDs, CDs, eight-track tapes, video games, etc.
Porter County residents who do not want to wait in line at the May 17 event can drop off electronics and media at the Valparaiso and Boone Grove compost sites any time during their hours of operation. In addition, residents can drop off electronics at the following locations: Portage Street Department: 2302 Hamstrom Road, 762-4564; Valparaiso Public Works: 406 Don Hovey Drive, 462-4612; Porter Street Department: 550 Beam Street, 926-2771. Residents should call these municipal departments to determine hours of operation.
Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable or reactive ingredients are considered to be “household hazardous waste” or “HHW,” and require special care when they are discarded.
HHW items accepted at May 17 One Stop Drop include aerosols; anti-freeze; oil; batteries (household and automotive); corrosives; mercury containing products (fluorescent tubes, CFLs, thermometers, thermostats, etc.); oil-based paint, thinners and solvents; pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and other poisons; diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene, other flammable liquids; ammunition and expired medications.
Explosives, commercial hazardous waste and radioactive materials (like smoke detectors) will not be accepted. Though latex paint is not considered household hazardous waste, it will be accepted at the collection thanks to the district’s intergovernmental agreement with the City of Hobart for paint recycling.
The Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County is a government agency dedicated to improving the environment and quality of life for Porter County residents by providing convenient, voluntary waste reduction services. Visit www.ItMeansTheWorld.org for more information or call 465-3694.