The power of waste

Two regional facilities produce enough electricity to power several thousand homes, or offset municipal power bills by hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

More communities finding the cash value of recycling

Recycling is good for the ecology and a community's economy, but efforts at recycling vary greatly across the region.

Not your grandfather's landfills

With at least 20 years of existing capacity at Northwest Indiana landfills -- and room for expansion well beyond that -- there is no need to hit the panic button.

Some Lowell councilmen consider westward expansion

LOWELL | Some members of the town council want to head west.

Trash, recycling toters delayed for half of Portage

PORTAGE | Delivery of the new 96-gallon trash and recycling toters has been delayed to about half of the city.

Portage aims to boost recycling, save money

PORTAGE | Officials are expecting the city's recycling collection to triple within the first month of putting a new collection system in place.

Meetings to explain trash pick-up changes

PORTAGE | The city will launch its educational campaign Sept. 13 to explain changes in trash and recycling pick-up.

Automated trash pickup moves step closer

PORTAGE | After a few delays, the Board of Works on Monday approved a five-year contract with Republic Services of Chesterton as the city's waste hauler, making automated trash and recycling one step closer to reality.

Awarding of trash deal delayed

PORTAGE | Awarding a contract that would have moved the city closer to an automated trash collection system was delayed Wednesday.

Portage moving closer to automated trash pick-up

PORTAGE | It appears, in about three months, Portage will be switching from its method of picking up trash and recycling to an automated system.

Portage trashes proposals for solid waste service

PORTAGE | The Board of Works on Monday rejected proposals from five companies on providing solid waste trash disposal services to the city.

Proposals received for waste disposal services

PORTAGE | Five companies submitted proposals for solid waste disposal services to the city Wednesday.

Lake County dodging a legal bullet on trash disposal?

The Lake County Solid Waste Management District could avoid potential litigation — but invite other legal problems — if the trash-to-ethanol contract dies between now and April 2.

Recycling rates are picking up

Earth Day has passed but there are several opportunities each day to protect the environment such as recycling household garbage, area officials said.

Out-of-town donors top Velazquez's list

VALPARAISO | The top 10 donors last year to Portage Mayor Olga Velazquez's 2011 re-election bid are from outside of the city and all but three are outside the county.

Trash-to-ethanol controversy swirls

Lake County municipal leaders and solid waste officials spent much of 2010 debating the potential liability to taxpayers that public ownership of a planned trash-to-ethanol facility would create.