About
Borden Waste-Away is the largest residential waste and recycling company in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. Our service focuses on safety as our number one priority. This means safety for our team, our customers, and our community.
Our customers include individual subscription residents, homeowner associations, municipalities, and Solid Waste Management Districts. We remain your local, family-owned, community-based choice for waste and recycling service by providing a courteous, reliable staff of professionals to help with all of your needs.
Our History
Borden-Waste Away is one of several companies owned by Waste-Away Group, Ltd. Charles Himes, Sr., formed our company in 1940 with a single truck. A lot has changed since then, in terms of technology and innovation, but the values of the company and family-ownership have remained the same. Today, ownership is represented by the third generation of the Himes family and we’re proud to say that the fourth generation is working alongside us today.
In 1972 Borden Waste-Away Service, Inc. was founded to provide customers with affordable and trusted curbside trash services. We started with just a handful of service vehicles, but with the trust and support of our community we’ve expanded to the multi-county operation that you see today. Currently, Borden has expanded to provide services to over 13 counties across Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan.
Shortly after Borden’s founding, in 1974, Waste-Away expanded again to found RecyclingWorks, Inc. RecyclingWorks would grow over the next 50 years to become the premiere recycling collection plant in Northern Indiana. Your Borden recycling is sent to RecyclingWorks for processing, and our partnership has only improved the services offered by Borden.
Beginning in 1988, Borden began offering our curbside recycling services. No longer would local residents be required to bring their recycling to specified drop off points. Now, Borden customers could have their recycling serviced from the comfort of their homes. We’re still offering our curbside recycling services today, and with modern technological advances sorting recycling is no longer required, making it easier than ever to take care of the Earth.
Across the 1990’s Borden would continue expanding our services. Household Hazardous Waste Day Programs were established in partnership with multiple local governments. These collection days would help residents rid themselves of dangerous materials, such as household cleaners and spent paints. In addition to Hazardous Collection Days, Borden also began establishing additional recycling drop off points in local Counties to further improve recycling services.
In 2004 Borden made the choice to convert to a Fully Automated Residential Pickup fleet. These new trucks are equipped with automatic boom arms, specifically built to grab and hoist curbside trash carts into collection bins. This new fleet is safer, quieter, and quicker than traditional rear load trash trucks, allowing for quicker and improved services for customers. In 2008, we would again invest in fleet upgrades to further improve service times and safety.
In 2009 our partners at RecyclingWorks would take the next big step in improving our recycling services: the implementation of a Single Stream Sorting System. Borden recycling customers would no longer have to hassle with sorting their recyclables by type. This new system allows recycling to be quickly sorted and separated with the assistance of advanced electronics and AI. “Single-Stream” service would become the norm for Borden customers, simplifying the recycling process even further.
Our Community
Borden Waste-Away is dedicated to the community that we serve. We don’t just work here: we live here, too! In addition to serving our customers, we’re passionate about ensuring our community is clean and green, too. That’s why you’ll often see the Borden Waste-Away logo or the logo of one of our sister companies, like Himco Waste-Away, at events throughout the year.
We enjoy supporting our community through the following ways:
Community Sponsorship
We regularly sponsor causes that our meaningful to our team and community, like Cancer Research with our Pink Cart Program, and our local Junior Achievement chapters.
Event Services
We’re proud to partner with local organizations to ensure their events stay clean and green with trash collection, recycling stations, and zero-waste options.
Environmental Stewardship
As you drive around our service area, you might recognize a road we sponsor or even see our team out picking up trash. Behind the scenes, you can rest assured that your waste is being managed responsibly and meeting or exceeding best practices for the environment.
Dedicated Recycling
Our recycling services are managed in-house by our sister company, Recycling Works. This means we control the processes by which your recycling is handled – ensuring that we’re doing the most to protect the environment.
Youth Support
As a third-generation company, we know a little about the importance of youth and how we can shape the future by supporting kids. You’ll often find us sponsoring youth events and educating in local classrooms about recycling and our environment.
As a local, family-owned company, we believe it is our responsibility to help make the community we work and live in cleaner, more beautiful, and stronger than when we began serving you in 1940.
