SWACO expands community investment programs in central Ohio

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), based in Columbus, Ohio, has made investments in four initiatives aimed at making waste reduction easier for families and residents in the central region of the state.

The expanded projects focus on food waste, specialized recycling and data collection.

“Reducing waste shouldn’t feel overwhelming or out of reach,” SWACO Executive Director Joe Lombardi says. “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.”

Reynoldsburg food waste drop-off

The city of Reynoldsburg has 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, which provides participants 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.

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.

The new Reynoldsburg location marks the 35th food waste drop off site in Franklin County. According to SWACO, drop-off sites are a key part of the organization’s Save More Than Food Campaign, which aims to reduce food waste in central Ohio by 50 percent by 2030.

“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,” Joe Begeny, mayor of Reynoldsburg, says. “We’re also pairing this access with education. I’m excited to see the impact this program will have on our community.”

Worthington recycling convenience center

In addition, SWACO awarded the city of Worthington a grant for nearly $30,000 to create a recycling convenience center. The grant supports SWACO’s Greenprint Initiative, which aims to form new partnerships to capture more hard-to-recycle materials. The organization says the new center will be able to accept hard-to-recycle items like car batteries, old motor oil, antifreeze, electronics, food waste and Styrofoam.

Located at the city’s Highland Road Complex, the Worthington convenience center is anticipated to open in the spring and will become the fourth center of its kind 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 says it will contribute more than $400,000 to help Groveport, Madison, Clinton and Sharon Townships upgrade their recycling capacity. The organization will help provide the locales with more than 8,000 new recycling carts.

The 35- or 65-gallon carts are expected to more than double what residents can currently recycle each week. The recycling carts will also have lids to prevent litter, SWACO says, and the wheels aim to make it easier to get recycled items to the curb for pickup.

Capture rate research studies

SWACO also 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. According to SWACO, this will help the organization see where recycling efforts are succeeding and where more advanced community education may be needed.

Local Waste Services Ltd. and Rumpke provided logistical support for the study.