SWACO grants target landfill diversion

The Grove City, Ohio-based Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) has announced the 12 recipients of more than $250,000 in grants resulting from its Community Waste Reduction (CWR) program.

The regional waste and recycling agency says the 2025 grants awarded were a significant increase over recent years.

SWACO awards CWR grants each year for "innovative projects" that significantly reduce waste or increase the diversion of waste from the landfill in Franklin County, Ohio. The region served by SWACO includes several cities and townships in Franklin County, including the state capital of Columbus.

This year’s CWR grant recipients are local governments and nonprofits, schools, hospitals and churches in that region. Additionally, SWACO says it prioritizes applications with an emphasis on partnership and collaboration.

One recipient is Goodwill Columbus, which has started a new donation incentive program designed to reward residents for donating their unwanted items to Goodwill instead of sending them to the county’s landfill.

Two Franklin County middle schools have received grants to help them teach students about the waste stream and learn about how recycling and composting programs can be integrated with their curricula.

“Reducing the amount waste coming into the landfill is one of our core missions, and it takes a communitywide effort,” SWACO Executive Director Joe Lombardi says.

“The Community Waste Reduction grant program helps fund an amazing array of innovative programs across the county that benefit our residents and help prolong the life of the landfill, and we’re thrilled to be able to fund so many of them this year."

Grant recipients are required to document the project’s impact. Grants are available in amounts ranging from $500 to $35,000, and recipients must provide a 20 percent match. 

“The Worthington Partnership is excited to have this opportunity to implement reuse projects at the Worthington Farmers Market and in downtown Worthington,” says Dan Barash of the Worthington Partnership Green Team, another grant recipient.

“One key focus of this initiative is expanding the network of coffee shops participating in a borrow-based reusable cup program that was originally launched by our colleagues at the Central Ohio Reuse Coalition."