Rain barrels will be available for pick up at the Northwest Indiana Earth Day Celebration on April 18 to anyone who has pre-ordered and paid for them.
Information on purchasing the 55 gallon barrels is available on the Recycling & Waste Reduction District of Porter County website, www.ItMeansTheWorld.org. Mail-in orders must be received by April 13; online orders must be placed by April 15.
The purchased barrels will be available between 9 a.m. and noon at the Porter County Expo Center, 215 E. Division Rd., Valparaiso, the day of the Earth Day event.
Besides being a great value, these barrels are upcycled. After serving their primary purpose of transporting olives and pickles overseas, the containers were diverted from the waste stream, where they would have ultimately ended up in a landfill, and modified to collect rain water. By purchasing upcycled items, demand for new molded plastic containers is reduced.
Rain barrels can add several long-term benefits to the community such as saving residents money, while avoiding runoff that can be detrimental to local water sources. According to the EPA, use of a rain barrel can save 1,300 gallons of water throughout the summer.
The Recycling and Waste Reduction District of Porter County has partnered with the Porter County Parks and Recreation Department and the county’s Storm Water Quality Management - MS4 to serve as an ongoing connection for reasonably priced, upcycled rain barrels that anyone can purchase.