SWACO to award $94,289 in landfill diversion grants

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) has announced its plans to award more than $94,289 in grant funding to nine local organizations, city governments, schools and nonprofit organizations in central Ohio as part of its annual Community Waste Reduction Grant program.

These grants will help local organizations support SWACO’s broader strategy to increase waste diversion from the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill to 75 percent by 2032. Since the grants program was reimagined in 2016, SWACO has awarded $770,000 in grant funding to support local waste diversion initiatives across the region. During that same period, Franklin County’s diversion rate has grown from 45 percent to today’s record-high rate of 51 percent.

“Central Ohio is home to so many schools and organizations who are committed to creating a healthier, more resilient community—not just today, but for future generations of Ohioans, as well,” says Hanna Greer-Brown, SWACO's communications manager, in a news release announcing the grants. “As our population continues to boom, addressing our waste systems and ensuring the protection of our environment and economy will become a shared responsibility. We’re so pleased to be able to partner with and support the waste reduction and diversion journeys of these incredible community partners. Through our work together, we will continue to make a big difference for central Ohio.”

This year’s projects include everything from the installation of water bottle filling stations in a local school district to the development of a zero-waste plan at Otterbein University.

Twenty-five percent of the funding will support food waste diversion initiatives, underscoring the community’s acknowledgment of food waste as the single-largest source of material entering the landfill. A recent study by SWACO found that 83 percent of residents are concerned about the amount of food wasted every day and 89 percent of residents support central Ohio’s goal of achieving a 75 percent diversion goal by 2032.

The 2022 Community Waste Reduction Grant recipients are:

• All Saints Episcopal Church New Albany,  $1,784 to help create a residential food waste drop-off location;
• Bexley City Schools, $12,033 to help underwrite the installation of refillable water bottle filling stations across the district;
• Columbus Fashion Alliance, $20,000 to help support activities related to textile waste reduction and recycling;
• city of Gahanna, $7,371 to help create a residential food waste drop-off location; 
• city of New Albany, $13,042 to implement single-stream recycling in city buildings;   
• city of Reynoldsburg, $12,489 to implement single-stream recycling in city buildings and improve and expand the existing single-stream recycling at city parks;
• The Ohio State University, $9,571 to help support the development and implementation of a food waste drop-off location for staff at OSU Wexner Medical Center;
• Otterbein University, $16,900 to assist in the development of a zero-waste plan; and
• Plain Township, $1,100 to help implement single-stream recycling at the Plain Township Aquatic Center. 

“We are grateful to SWACO for selecting the city of Reynoldsburg as one of the recipients of the 2022 Community Waste Reduction Grants,” says Donna Bauman, director of Reynoldsburg Parks and Recreation.  “This grant will enable us to expand our recycling efforts in our parks and begin a robust recycling program for staff at the Reynoldsburg City Hall building. It is imperative that we all do our part, to recycle right.”

The Ohio State University Zero Waste Coordinator Molly Kathleen says the university is grateful for the grant.

“As one of central Ohio’s largest employers, we are thrilled with the opportunity to expand home composting accessibility to our staff,” she says. “This grant will provide many individuals with an avenue to divert food waste, which is the largest waste stream found in the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill."

Last year, SWACO awarded $224,000 to 15 local organizations, schools and nonprofits in central Ohio. More grant funding was awarded in 2021 because of the increase in waste material created because residents and families spent most of their time at home during the height of the pandemic.

SWACO will begin accepting applications for 2023 projects in late April 2022. Information will be available on swaco.org/grants.