If you’ve got kids, you know how hectic this time of year can be with summer wrapping up, routines changing, and students going back to school. There’s shopping to do and sometimes endless practices for sports or the arts. One way to help bring the stress level down sustainably is to carpool whenever possible—it’ll cut down your trips and your carbon emissions. If possible, you could even organize a walking or biking group with nearby families to skip the school drop-off line and reduce pollution from vehicle idling.
If you haven’t finished your back-to-school shopping, click HERE for some great tips on reducing waste and saving money, and if you need inspiration for low-waste school lunches, check out the Scrap Wrap recipe at Save More Than Food.
And if you know a senior in high school that is considering a college major that relates to waste management or environmental sustainability, click below learn about the SWACO Scholarship program.
A Grant From SWACO Helped Make This Year’s State Fair More Sustainable
The Ohio State Fair was greener than ever this year thanks to a more-than $24,000 grant from SWACO. The funds provided 100 additional recycling receptacles that build on a successful pilot program from 2025 that diverted more than eight tons of recycling from the landfill. SWACO also provided improved recycling signage for fairgoers, training for custodial staff, and other technical assistance for this first phase of what will be a three-year partnership. Click HERE to learn more or click below to see a short video about the new sustainability efforts at the fair.
Be On The Lookout Downtown
Composting is coming to downtown thanks to new food scrap drop-off bins at Columbus Commons. The new bins use sensor technology to signal when they’re full, collect data to measure impact, and use app access to keep it all clean. Best of all, it’s free to use and will allow downtown residents and visitors to compost more easily than ever before. Be on the lookout for the new bins in the coming weeks and click HERE to listen to the WastED podcast and learn more.
Upcoming Events
Mattress Recycling
Now though November, you can drop off your mattress or box springs for free at the SWACO Recycling Convenience Center and rest easy knowing that it will be responsibly recycled instead of taking up space at the landfill. This pilot program is being used to study the feasibility of long-term mattress recycling options. Click HERE for details.
HHW Collection Events
Many of us have a shelf in the garage or basement with various hazardous chemicals and cleaning products, and it can be really hard to know how to safely dispose of them. Click HERE to learn about the permanent Household Hazardous Waste collection point, or click HERE to find out about our upcoming HHW collection events in Grove City and Westerville.
Landfill Tour
You may know that SWACO offers free public tours of the landfill, but did you know that we also give free tours to school groups from all over the county and can even reimburse schools for the cost of transportation? SWACO offers interactive programing for students from Pre-K through early middle school, and you can choose which program would be best for your class. Click below to learn more. Click HERE for more information.
