In 2018, SWACO introduced its Recycle Right: Make a Difference education campaign to encourage recycling and teach the right way to do it. We created the campaign following a survey showing people want to recycle but get confused about which items are accepted and which ones are not. The campaign employs social media, TV advertising, direct mail, email messages, magnets with Recycle Right messaging and a dedicated website to educate people about the importance of recycling correctly.
Much of the campaign is done in partnership with municipalities in Franklin County, including Jackson Township, villages like Norwich and Urbancrest, and cities such as Hilliard, Grove City, Worthington and Upper Arlington. We give them tools, resources and information about recycling, which they in turn share with their residents. In the past two years, we have worked with 8 municipalities, reaching nearly 60,000 households with the Recycle Right message. We’re excited to announce that seven more communities are participating in the campaign, giving us the opportunity to connect with thousands more households.
- Dublin, in coordination with Washington Township, and New Albany, in coordination with Plain Township, introduced the RecycleRight: Make a Difference campaign to their residents. The cities, which both already use wheeled recycling carts, and townships are sending direct mail and email messages that encourage recycling and clarify what materials are accepted.
- In Canal Winchester, residents are getting curbside recycling for the first time. The city, which is the last one in Franklin County to provide this service, signed an agreement with Rumpke to provide curbside recycling as well as the recycling carts. Recycle Right magnets were distributed to all households to remind them what they can and cannot put in their new recycling carts.
- Whitehall residents have access to curbside recycling, but they will receive new, larger wheeled carts thanks to grants from The Recycling Partnership and SWACO. The city will distribute the 65-gallon carts along with the Recycle Right magnets in mid-December.
- Like the City of Whitehall, Pleasant Township will be moving from 18-gallon bins to 65-gallon carts using grants from The Recycling Partnership and SWACO. Residents will receive their recycling carts and Recycle Right magnets before the end of the year.
We thank these communities for supporting the Recycle Right: Make a Difference campaign. Together, we can easily and relatively quickly divert much of the waste we’re sending to the landfill each year through recycling.
As a reminder, Franklin County’s residential recycling program currently accepts five material types for household recycling:
- Paper and cardboard
- Plastic bottles and jugs
- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal cans
- Cartons
While it’s important for you to recycle, it’s also important to Recycle Right. By taking just a few minutes to recycle the right way, you help reduce pollution, contribute to cleaner water, conserve limited natural resources, support our economy and reduce central Ohio’s reliance on landfills.