Compost bags will be available in Hobart beginning Monday

HOBART | The compost bag program will begin Monday for Hobart residents.

Valpo, Boone Grove compost sites to open April 1

PORTER COUNTY | The Valparaiso compost site, 2150 W. Lincolnway, and the Boone Grove site, 400 West 550 South, will open for the season April 1, to give Porter County residents the opportunity to drop off yard waste from their spring cleanups.

Friendly flushing: Water-efficient toilets help make sustainable homes

Commode, can, the Oval Office, and the Super Bowl. Throne, pot, loo, John. The royal flush.

Valparaiso could turn sludge savings to earnings

VALPARAISO | Applying the city's annual 4 million gallons of treated sewage on area farm fields has been a good thing for the farmers and the city, but turning the sludge into compost could prove to be an even bigger boon for the city.

Hobart changes trash pickup schedule because of holiday

HOBART | The Department of Public Works will be closed Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Valpo holds summer recycling Green Days

VALPARAISO | If you didn't get rid of all your old TVs, stereos or other recyclables during your spring cleaning, the city is co-sponsoring summer cleaning days for Friday and Saturday at Fairground Park.

Hobart announces Memorial Day trash pickup schedule

HOBART | The city's Department of Public Works will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

Gardeners need a sense of humus

Let's pay homage to humus. As the garden gets into full swing, it's a good time for such tribute, because enthusiasm can be parlayed into action.

Valpo reminds residents of yard waste rules

VALPARAISO | Don't waste that yard waste. The city's Public Works Department will turn it into mulch, but it won't accept grass clippings.

Porter County waste district trashes food compost plans

The Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County has trashed plans to begin accepting commercial food waste at its Boone Grove compost site.

Mulch, compost available to Porter Co. residents April 9

VALPARAISO | Porter County residents can get mulch and compost from Valparaiso beginning April 9.

Valparaiso almost ready to sell human waste compost

VALPARAISO | It took three years to develop the right formula for turning human waste into a product for use in gardens and another year to make sure it could be done on a large scale.

A good cart helps make a good garden

Let us now praise an unsung hero of the garden: the humble garden cart.

A Thanksgiving for garden soil

For putting food on our tables, let's give thanks to the soil in our vegetable gardens.

Offer your compost a balanced diet

A bit of chemistry might be good for your compost. Actually, we need deal with only two familiar elements: carbon and nitrogen. They're the ones for which the "bugs" that do the work of making compost are most hungry.

Compost and mulch available

VALPARAISO | The city of Valparaiso Department of Public Works has both compost and mulch available for Porter County residents.

PHIL WIELAND: On NIMBYs and unicorns and rainbows

Here's a topic for a philosophical debate should you ever feel philosophic and want to debate something: Is there anything a NIMBY would not object to having in his or her backyard?

Residents oppose compost site plans

A proposal to accept food waste at the Boone Grove compost site is drawing opposition from nearby residents still feeling stung by a failed attempt several years ago to leave them with a 354-acre landfill.

Hobart changes trash pickup schedule to observe holiday

HOBART| The city's Department of Public Works will be closed on Monday in observance of Independence Day.

County looks at need for north compost site

VALPARAISO | While a meeting is scheduled May 19 to hear whether the public believes there is a need for a public access compost site in the north end of Porter County, there is no game plan in mind even if the demand is strong.