Last week, SWACO was proud to announce a new partnership with Oakland Nursery to provide grant funding for a new cardboard bailing machine that will divert a significant amount of waste from the landfill and even allow Oakland to make a little profit selling cardboard for recycling.
SWACO’s new Business Equipment Grant program is designed to help businesses in Franklin County make meaningful investments in waste reduction and recycling infrastructure. Eligible projects can include the purchase of equipment such as balers, compactors, shredders and other technologies that help businesses divert more material from the landfill.
This new investment demonstrates how the right equipment can turn everyday business waste into a valuable resource — creating environmental benefits while helping businesses reduce costs and strengthen their recycling efforts. Click below to learn more about SWACO grants for businesses.
Coming Soon: SWACO 3Rs Ambassadors!
Do you find yourself sharing sustainability tips with friends and neighbors or brainstorming new ways to keep waste out of the landfill? You might be a great fit for SWACO’s new 3Rs Ambassadors program! Organized around the guiding principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling, 3Rs is a volunteer ambassador program in which members of the community can participate in a flexible six- week training program and then join SWACO team members as we share recycling, composting, and other sustainability education throughout the community.
The program is designed to fit around your busy schedule and offers a behind-the-scenes look at waste reduction in central Ohio, including facility tours and expert insights into the programs that help reduce waste. After completing the training, the 3Rs Ambassadors put what they’ve learned into action through at least 20 hours of volunteer service throughout the year.
If that sounds like a great time to you, visit SWACO.org/Ambassador to learn more. Applications for the next group of ambassadors open on October 1st.
Next Week Is Food Waste Prevention Week
Did you know that a million pounds of food waste comes to the Franklin County Landfill every single day, and that a typical family of four spends $2,000 a year on food that they never eat? All of that not only wastes the food itself, but also all of the resources that went into growing, storing, transporting, and preparing that food, and food waste is the largest single category of waste that comes to the landfill.
Fortunately, SWACO’s Save More Than Food website has all kinds of resources to help you save money and cut waste through things like shopping smart, using leftovers, and composting. As you may also know, there are more than 30 food waste drop-off sites around Franklin County where you can take organics to be composted, and we’re even opening new ones in the coming weeks downtown at the Columbus Commons. If food waste is something that’s important to you, click below to sign up for SWACO’s regular Save More Than Food newsletter.
Upcoming Events
Hazardous Waste
Got a shelf or drawer of mystery chemicals, old paint, or dead batteries that you don’t know what to do with? SWACO’s got you covered. Two mobile Household Hazardous Waste collection events are coming up: September 26th in Grove City and October 3rd in Westerville. Bring your cleaning products, pool and lawn chemicals, paint strippers, batteries, fluorescent bulbs, automotive fluids, and more for safe, responsible disposal. (Mostly for free, though small fees apply to some items.) It’s a simple way to clear out the clutter and keep hazardous waste out of landfills and waterways. Click HERE for a full list of accepted items and details on SWACO’s year-round HHW collection point.
Recycle Right Webinar
Ever wondered what happens to your recycling after you put it in the cart or drop it off somewhere? Tune in on September 23rd at noon for a one-hour webinar to learn the life cycle of your recycling. We will discuss recycling sorting and processing, and the journey to becoming a new product. We will also cover common myths or misunderstandings as they relate to the reality of recycling in Franklin County. Feel free to send in questions ahead of time to [email protected] with the subject line “webinar question” or ask them live. Register HERE.
Free Landfill Tour
Did you know that you can tour the Franklin County landfill? Join us on Saturday, October 17th for a fun and informative tour of the landfill to learn all about how SWACO safely manages all of our community’s waste, as well as some of the actions that you can take to help reduce your reliance on the landfill by reusing, recycling, and composting. This free tour takes about 90 minutes, half in a classroom setting and half actually driving through the landfill with a tour guide. The tour is open to any Franklin County resident over the age of six years old, so click HERE to register today!
