Today, officials from Blendon Township and the cities of Westerville, Gahanna, Bexley and Reynoldsburg kicked off a new effort to deliver larger, more efficient recycling carts to more than 38,000 Franklin County homes. 

These five communities are the first to participate in SWACO’s new Recycling Cart Initiative, which makes 65-gallon recycling carts available at a discounted rate to communities that don’t already own carts.  

“SWACO is on a mission to increase recycling in Franklin County,” said Ty Marsh, SWACO’s executive director. “Utilizing the larger, wheeled carts has proven effective at increasing a community’s rate of recycling, sometimes by as much as 30%. We applaud this effort by Blendon Township, Westerville, Gahanna, Bexley and Reynoldsburg to improve residential recycling.”

The wheeled recycling carts provide many advantages over the smaller, outdated recycling bins. Besides the fact that they’re much easier to take to the curb, they also increase recycling volume, allow for automated collection to improve safety and efficiency, and reduce the potential for blowing litter.

Westerville residents were the first to receive the carts which began arriving in April. Craig Treneff, the City’s mayor, says the decision to take advantage of the funding opportunities made sense strategically for the community.

“Environmental Sustainability is a top priority in Westerville. These new carts empower residents to decrease waste and increase recycling efforts from home,” Treneff said. “We are grateful to SWACO and The Recycling Partnership for helping to bring this program to our City.”

Residents in all five communities will have their carts by the end of May.

"Recycling not only makes good sense from an environmental perspective, but it also leads to reduced costs for our residents,” stated Reynoldsburg Mayor Brad McCloud. "Our partnership with SWACO and The Recycling Partnership program is an example of how our city is dedicated to using innovative methods to create a standardized recycling process that will ultimately reduce collection costs long-term for Reynoldsburg."

“We’re excited for the new recycling cart program. We know that it will be a change for residents, but we’re confident that residents will like their new recycling crats and it will be an improvement for the community,” stated Blendon Township Administrator Bryan Rhoads.

“This partnership is great for Gahanna and our residents. It increases the convenience, capacity and effectiveness of our recycling while providing important educational benefits even as it reduces costs. It truly will help us Recycle Right,” said Gahanna Mayor Tom Kneeland.

“We’re focused on providing residents with expanding opportunities to properly dispose of recycling. These toters, with their enhanced capacity and protection from the elements, provide a great resource as we expand our recycling efforts in Bexley,” said Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler.

The larger carts typically cost about $45 each, but these communities will pay only about $15.52 per cart, thanks to funding being provided by SWACO and a grant from The Recycling Partnership, a national organization that connects communities with private dollars to improve and expand recycling.

In addition to purchasing new carts, SWACO will use funds from The Recycling Partnership grant to provide recycling educational materials as part of SWACO’s ongoing “Recycle Right, Make a Difference” program. These educational materials will include guidelines for what can and cannot be recycled in Franklin County to ensure residents are using the new carts to recycle effectively and efficiently.

“We love to be a part of collaborations like this one in SWACO. The MRF, hauler, cities, and Solid Waste District all came together to improve recycling in the region,” said Cody Marshall, Chief Community Strategy Officer, The Recycling Partnership. “This is a model the recycling system needs in order to thrive.”

While the Recycling Partnership grant dollars are limited, SWACO will help any Franklin County community that doesn’t currently own recycling containers, and that wants to introduce or upgrade to wheeled carts, to purchase them for only $22.50 – a 50% reduction in price.

Watch the ABC6 Media Coverage of the announcement here.