The City of Valparaiso and the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County invite residents to take advantage of getting compost loaded 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 2 through 7 at the Valparaiso compost site, 2150 W. Lincolnway. Residents will be able to take away up to three yards of compost per trip. Businesses are not eligible to participate.
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.
Additionally to celebrate International Compost Awareness Week, complimentary “how to” books on backyard composting 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 and Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
More information about district compost sites and what is accepted at each site is available on its website, www.ItMeansTheWorld.org.
“We hope Porter County residents will take the opportunity to visit us, learn about composting, whether at our sites or in their own backyards, and make an investment in the soil and plants in and around their homes,” said Therese Davis, executive director of the district. “Take home a load of black gold and see that with compost, the possibilities are truly endless!”
The district will offer backyard composting workshops May 23 through 26. Residents can register online at www.ItMeansTheWorld.org. Residents also can purchase backyard composters from the district. Contact the district at 465-3694 for more details.
“Composting is nature’s way of recycling,” said Davis. “It is the natural process of decomposition and recycling of organic material, such as leaves, garden waste and grass, into a humus-rich soil amendment known as compost. Compost improves soil naturally by adding moisture and nutrients that nurture plant health.”