SWACO Expanding Community Investment Programs to Make Waste Reduction Easier | SWACO

Four newly expanded projects will increase recycling access and education across Central Ohio

(Columbus, OH) –  A recent study found only 9 percent of people successfully keep their New Year’s resolutions, with only 36 percent of Americans making it through January.

SWACO aims to beat those odds by making new investments in four initiatives to make waste reduction easier for families and residents. The expanded projects focus on food waste, specialized recycling, and data collection.

“Reducing waste shouldn’t feel overwhelming or out of reach,” said SWACO Executive Director Joe Lombardi. “By expanding these programs and forging key community partnerships, we’re making it easier for families and businesses to recycle more, waste less, and see real savings—whether that’s keeping food out of the landfill, recycling hard-to-manage items, or improving access to data that drive smarter decisions. It’s fun to start the year on a high note thinking of the great impact that’s to come in the next 12 months and beyond.”

Food Waste Expansion Program

The city of Reynoldsburg has recently opened a new food waste drop-off site at Huber Park after becoming the first central Ohio community to complete SWACO’s Food Waste Expansion Program. Residents can drop off food waste at no charge during operating hours, and free at-home collection bins will be provided to the first 100 households that register.

With the new Reynoldsburg location, there are now more than 35 food waste drop off sites in Franklin County. The Food Waste Expansion Program provides participants, like Reynoldsburg, up to $4,000 to build their food scrap collection site enclosure, purchase signage and pay for the first year of hauling for the collected scraps.

“This new food waste drop-off site gives Reynoldsburg residents a simple, convenient way to keep food scraps out of the landfill and save residents money, and we couldn’t have done it without SWACO’s support,” said Mayor Joe Begeny. “We’re also pairing this access with education. I’m excited to see the impact this program will have on our community.”

Nearly one million pounds of wasted food arrives at the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill every single day.

A 2020 study in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics found the average family in America wastes more than 2,400 pounds of food per year. That is an average of nearly $2,000 each year literally thrown in the trash. When families prevent food waste, they save more than food.

Drop-off sites are a key part of SWACO’s Save More Than Food Campaign, which aims to reduce food waste in central Ohio by 50% by 2030.

Worthington Special Assistance Support

SWACO awarded the City of Worthington a grant for nearly $30,000 to create a recycling convenience center. The new center will be able to accept hard-to-recycle items like car batteries, old motor oil, antifreeze, electronics, and food waste.

Worthington’s convenience center will be located at the City’s Highland Road Complex and is expected to open this Spring.

The grant supports SWACO’s Greenprint Initiative, which seeks to form new partnerships to capture more hard-to-recycle materials.  The opening of this new Convenience Center later this year will expand the availability of these Centers to four in central Ohio. SWACO currently operates the Recycling Convenience Center on Jackson Pike and the City of Columbus has two Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers.

Cart Grant Program

SWACO will contribute more than $400,000 to help the city of Groveport, Madison, Clinton, and Sharon Townships upgrade their recycling capacity.

SWACO will help provide more than 8,000 new recycling carts. The 35 or 65-gallon carts will more than double what residents can recycle in a given week.  The recycling carts will also have lids to prevent litter, and the wheels will make it easier to get recycled items to the curb for pickup.

Franklin County residents can learn more about SWACO’s cart grant program at Grants | SWACO, OH.

New Capture Rate Research Studies

SWACO conducted the third in a series of capture rate studies. This research determines how many recyclable items reach a recycling center versus a landfill. The study involved sorting items collected through curbside recycling programs in two central Ohio communities at SWACO’s Jackson Pike transfer station. This will help SWACO see where recycling efforts are succeeding and where more advanced community education may be needed. 

Local Waste and Rumpke provided logistical support for the study.