Zigler Road Compost Site Closure for Processing

lp-co-cleanup-2014-advThe yard waste compost site on Zigler Road will soon be shut down for at least a month to process all the leaves, grass, brush and branches on the site, the La Porte County Solid Waste District has announced. The closure will be required for safety, as there will be large equipment and grinding being done on site.

But residents are still able to use the District’s Westville compost site free of charge, and businesses can use it for a small fee.

“Our site at the Westville Correctional Facility is manned and is well equipped to handle large amounts of yard waste,” said Solid Waste District Director Clay Turner. “With the Zigler Road compost site being nearly full and work getting underway as soon as the first week of August, we encourage everyone to bring their yard waste out to Westville.”

The Westville site, located on County Road 1100 West outside the correctional facility, is open limited hours -- from 8-11 am and noon-2 pm Monday through Friday. Residents must accompany loads for them to be accepted free of charge. Businesses pay only $5 per cubic yard for most items and $7 per cubic yard for large items like stumps and trees 30 inches in diameter or more.

The compost site accepts vegetative matter, defined as any yard or landscaping waste including leaves, grass, brush, limbs and branches. Site director Troy Taylor and his crew from Westville Correctional reduce them down into products including compost, mulch and debarked firewood, all available for sale to the public at low cost. All of that is done facing the challenge of an ever-changing workforce, Taylor said.

The Westville compost site received high marks during its annual Indiana Department of Environmental Management inspection, with inspectors noting no violations. Inspector Cheryl Satkus noted in her July 28 report that the site is “in good condition” and “very well maintained.”

“She was very impressed with the facility and stated if someone wanted to learn how to successfully run a compost site, she would send them here,” Taylor said.

The permit issued to the compost site, located at the Westville Correctional Facility, will be up for renewal in September 2017.

For more information on the Westville compost facility, visit http://www.solidwastedistrict.com/programs/compost.html, or call (219) 363-8962.