(La Porte, IN) - The annual dumpster program in La Porte is on borrowed time.

 

The dumpsters will no longer be available for use by the public at the end of this month, said La Porte Code Enforcement Director Jeff Batchelor.

 

Batchelor said there were ongoing problems with residents placing their unwanted items on the ground when the dumpsters at the street department were full but cost was the main factor.  The city’s Urban Enterprise Association paid to have the dumpsters emptied on a yearly basis.

 

Batchelor said the $90,000 the UEA allocated this year for the program has already been spent due to the increased amount of users.  The cost is now considered prohibitive to continue the program in future years.

 

“We just can’t afford to do it anymore,” he said.

 

Batchelor said residents can still get rid of their unwanted items by making arrangements with the city’s trash hauler, Waste Management.  He also said the city is continuing with the annual fall clean-up where unwanted items can be placed at the curb for pick-up.

 

A spring clean-up, a long tradition until discontinued several years ago, could return as a result of the dumpster program ending.

 

“That’s something we’re looking at,” he said.