Port put upstart garbage company on the map

Mike Thun said the day his crew began picking up trash and recycling in Port Washington in September 2021 marked a turning point for Harter’s Lakeside Disposal.

City residents, who had put up with poor service from Waste Management for months, greeted the crew with glee, Thun said.

“They were cheering them on, giving them thumbs up,” he said. “The guys still talk about it.”

That was a noteworthy achievement, but for a company like Harter’s Lakeside, which had only opened its doors months earlier, it was a watershed moment.