Therese Davis, executive director of the Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County (RWRD), is making the rounds of municipalities this winter, getting out the word to folks about the variety of services offered by RWRD.

On Monday, Davis made a brief presentation to the Chesterton Town Council and drew special attention to upcoming events. Put these on your calendar:

•One Stop Drop, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 19, at the Porter County Expo Center, 215 E. Division Road in Valparaiso: appliances, electronics, tires, and household hazardous waste.

•Household Hazardous Waste only, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 7, at Westchester Intermediate School, 1050 S. Fifth St. in Chesterton; Saturday, Aug. 11, at Portage High School, 6450 U.S. Highway 6; and Saturday, Nov. 3, at the old Pine Elementary School, 1594N 500E. Items accepted: mercury devices, expired medications, metal polish, oil-based paints and thinners, nail polish and remover, insect spray, pesticides, flea spray, pool chemicals, batteries, used motor oil, and wood stripper.

•Earth Day Celebration, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 21, at the Porter County Expo Center. It will be the largest free environmental event in the area, with family fun, activities, products, education, and entertainment.

•Rain Barrel Workshop, 6 p.m., March 20, 28, and 29, at Sunset Hill Farm County Park Interpretive Center, 755 Meridian Road in Valparaiso. Cost: $45. Registration begins on Feb. 1 at www.ItMeansTheWorld.org

•Backyard Composting Workshop, 6 p.m. May 15, 23, and 24, at Sunset Hill Farm County Park. Cost: $13. Registration begins on April 1 at www.ItMeansTheWorld.org

•Free Compost Loading, during International Compost Awareness Week, May 7-12, at the Valparaiso Compost Site, 2150 W. Lincolnway. More information will be available in April on www.ItMeansTheWorld.org For residential use only.

Davis also drew attention to the newly established drop-off recycling station at the WiseWay Foods in Chesterton, the third busiest of the seven maintained by the RWRD. That station accepts all sorts of paper or fiber boxes—newspaper, mixed paper, catalogues, phone books, junk mail, cardboard, paperboard, and magazines—as well as glass bottles and jars, aluminum and bi-metal cans, and No. 1-No. 7 plastic products (but no Styrofoam).

The RWRD maintains seven organic composting sites too, four of them municipal restricted—including the Chesterton site in Crocker—but two of them public access: one in Valparaiso, the other in Boone Grove.

Folks hosting large events and in need of a recycling collection container may obtain one from the RWRD. The containers allow for easy collection of recyclables at any kind of event, Davis said.

And if you’re a member of a civic group and want to adopt a road in Porter County, contact the RWRD. Davis said that 200 bags of trash and 150 of recyclables are collected every year by organizations which have adopted stretches of roadway.

For more information, visit www.ItMeansTheWorld.org

Posted 1/25/2012