LaPorte County solid waste board approves negotiations for HHW and electronics contracts, reviews budget and equipment plans
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Summary
The LaPorte County Solid Waste District authorized staff to negotiate 2026 household hazardous waste and electronics collection contracts, reviewed a filed 2026 budget and financials, and discussed buying a new payloader as staff reported interest income from a newly purchased CD.
LaPorte County — The LaPorte County Solid Waste District board and its Citizens Advisory Committee on Sept. 10 authorized staff to begin contract negotiations for two 2026 service contracts and reviewed the district's budget and equipment plans.
District Director Mr. Turner told the board the 2026 budget has been filed with the auditor's office and received a file stamp; copies were mailed to board members after filing. He said the district is tentatively scheduled to hold a public hearing on Sept. 22 and a budget adoption hearing on Oct. 27, with exact times to be set by the council.
On routine business the board approved the Aug. 20 minutes and moved and approved claims for August and September. The district's finance presenter reported the board placed $600,000 into a certificate of deposit to earn higher interest, yielding "almost $2,050" in interest last month. The presenter said the district's cash on hand was about $1,376,148.28 and that the balance should be sufficient to carry the district to the December distribution, which was described as typically in the ballpark of $1.5 million.
Mr. Turner updated the board on a possible payloader purchase. He said the district has about $50,000 in a capital asset account and has received offers from equipment sales and trades; one used piece received a $32,000 offer and another sale produced about $10,000, leaving roughly $92,000 toward a purchase. New payloader prices were reported in the $190,000–$196,000 range. Turner said he would revisit the purchase in October or November and prefer to buy outright rather than finance if funds allow.
On new business, Turner reported the district ran requests for proposals for household hazardous waste (HHW) and electronics collection services jointly with neighboring jurisdictions. He said three proposals were received for the HHW contract, and the evaluation showed the incumbent (identified in the transcript as "Debit Environmental Services") was the lowest responsive bidder; the board voted to authorize staff to negotiate a contract to return for board approval. Turner said a typical arrangement is a one-year contract with two one-year extensions if performance is satisfactory.
Similarly, three bids were received for electronics recycling; GreenWave Electronics, the incumbent, was determined to be the lowest and most responsive bidder. The board authorized staff to negotiate with GreenWave and bring a contract back for signature.
During the advisory-board portion of the meeting, a member praised a recent presentation by Sasha Burns (delivered via Zoom through a group identified in the transcript as the "Grain Drinks Association"), calling the one-hour session informative on recycling improvements. A separate item noted a local volunteer program that collects plastic bread tags and redeems them to buy wheelchairs for children; the district maintains a collection box in its lobby and sends full boxes to the volunteer.
The board also discussed regional collection events and logistics, noting a drop-off for recyclables and hazardous waste at the county fairgrounds from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and a separate Michigan City airport collection for larger items such as mattresses. The meeting concluded after a motion to adjourn carried unanimously.
The district did not adopt any final long-term contracts during the session; board actions authorized staff to begin negotiations and return proposed contracts for formal approval at a future meeting.
