The City of Valparaiso and the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County invite residents to take advantage of getting their trucks loaded with compost for free during International Compost Awareness Week.
The city’s Public Works Department will be available to load compost for Porter County residents from 9 a.m. to noon May 7 through 12, 2012 at the Valparaiso compost site, 2150 W. Lincolnway. Residents are limited to three yards per load. Businesses are not eligible for free loading.
The Valpo compost site is a large scale municipal composting operation that offers Porter County residents the opportunity to drop off their yard waste for recycling. The district partners with the city to manage the organic material, composting yard waste and grinding organic wood waste to create large amounts of finished compost and mulch.
Regular hours for the Valpo compost site are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
To mark International Compost Awareness Week, complimentary “how-to” books on backyard composting also will be available at the Valpo compost site, as well as the district’s Boone Grove compost site, 400 West 550 South, which is open from noon to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
More information about the public compost sites and what is accepted at each one is available on the district's website, www.ItMeansTheWorld.org.
The district will offer backyard composting workshops beginning May 14. The $13 fee includes a compost bin and “how-to” book. Residents can register online for the workshops at www.ItMeansTheWorld.org. Backyard composters also are available for purchase from the district. For more information, call the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County, 465-3694.