Partners in Education

Trashformation at COSI



"Trashformation" is SWACO's exhibit at COSI.  Four, giant kiosks illuatrate how material is broken down to be recycled while computer screens display lifecycles of various products.

King Arts Complex



Grant monies have helped to develop a Trash to Tresure exhibit, interactive video games for kids, purchase picnic tables and benches made of recycled plastic bottles.

PAST Foundation
and its Mission



PAST started as a non-profit organization in 2000 founded by an international Board of Trustees who have devoted volumes of time to seeing that the mission of PAST is achievable. Founded to promote partnerships between anthropologists and educators, PAST successfully initiated and implemented projects throughout the United States and has proposed projects that will take it into the international arena.

The PAST/SWACO/Metro High School Garbology Program will impact one hundred, 9th grade students representing 16 school districts currently attending the Metro High School. Students will investigate garbage as one of the overarching threads of study and research for the Fall Semester. The hands-on experiential program melds lessons in science, environmental studies and humanities with current issues facing our students. The PAST/SWACO/Metro High School Garbology Program will be a combination of successful existing programs and new delivery tools. Topics covered will focus on environmental impact, research and development, and sustainability while considering historical innovations and their impact. Students will have the opportunity to study under Dr. William Rathje, world-renowned social Anthropologist, Archaeologist and Garbologist. Students will take a field trip to the SWACO Sanitary Landfill site to learn about how Central Ohio manages garbage. The field trip will provide an excellent hands-on learning experience to their semester long initiative in creating a valuable recycling environment at the Metro High School.

'My House' at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium 

Welcome to 'My House'.  The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium enjoy an ongoing partnership that began in the Spring of 2000. That partnership resulted in the Authority's sponsorship of the "My House" education center. located at the entranceway to the North American Region at the Columbus Zoo. "My House" allows visitors to experience exhibits and programs based on North American habitats. Human influence and its impact on habitats and the surrounding environment are the strong theme within the "My House" exhibit. 

SWACO assisted the Columbus Zoo in choosing recycled content construction material to incorporate into the 'My House' building. RASTRA® was chosen for wall system construction. This material is manufactured from post-consumer packaging and food service polystyrene. SWACO identified school lunch trays as a prime source of post-consumer polystyrene and worked to launch a temporary school lunch-tray recycling program. Sixty-three Franklin County Schools participated in the temporary lunch tray collection from August 2000 through December 2000. Participating schools provided approximately 14% of the polystyrene needed to construct "My House". (Click here to see a school participation list).

Post-consumer polystyrene material is ground and mixed with cement to manufacture prefabricated wall system panels. The lightweight panels are easily stacked and interlocked using an expanding foam glue. Channels can be cut into the soft wall panels to allow the installation of electrical wiring. The panels can also be cut to accommodate specific window and door openings. The assembled panels create a hollow form which is then reinforced with steel rods and filled with concrete to provide a strong, insulated wall system. Once in place, the polystyrene walls are covered with an exterior siding or stucco finish. (Click here for a tour of the "My House" construction project .)

'My House' provides education and awareness opportunities for potentially 1.3 million Zoo visitors annually. This is an opportunity to provide a positive experience for visitors and to educate the public about how to reduce their negative impacts on the environment.

Please click to open:

Parent’s Guide to My House at Habitat Hollow


Recycled Building Materials” used
in the construction of My House


Audubon Society

SWACO partnered with Audubon, Ohio to assist in the construction of the new Grange Insurance Audubon Center (GIAC) located on the Whittier Penninsula.  The GIAC opened August 28, 2009 and serves as destination nature center for urban populations, local residents and visitors to Central Ohio. It is a real-world demonstration of the benefits of sustainable, minimalist architecture and construction, resource conservation, energy efficiency, land reclamation, as well as an urban oasis for birds and other wildlife.