From Waste to Resources: Year of sustainability is reason to be proud, motivated
When it comes to reducing and disposing of waste, the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio always is planning for the future.
We’ve set an ambitious goal for Franklin County to divert 75% of its waste from the landfill by 2032, and it will require action from all of us in the years ahead to achieve it.
This year, the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill received and safely disposed of more than a million tons of waste. However, SWACO estimates that based on projected population growth, 600,000 additional tons of waste will be generated every year in Franklin County.
With 43 years of life remaining at the landfill, we have enough space to accommodate this growth. This past year, we completed construction of a new 20-acre landfill cell, which will serve our community’s growing disposal needs. But our goals go beyond just having the capacity to store waste. We want to reduce it.
We must become more sustainable by composting and recycling in order to enhance the environment and grow our economy.
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But as 2021 draws to a close, I’m proud of a number of positive steps central Ohio has made toward this end.
• With the addition of new food-waste drop-off programs in Grove City, Hilliard and Worthington, Franklin County has seven convenient drop-off locations that together composted more than 400,000 pounds of food in a year.
• Enhancements to recycling infrastructure and education allowed Whitehall to double its recycling rate and led to a 45% decrease in contamination in Gahanna’s recycling.
• A partnership with the city of Columbus and AEP Energy Partners for the Columbus Solar Park – the largest solar array on a closed landfill in the United States – will generate clean energy for the region, powering 5,000 homes.
• A multifamily-housing recycling pilot program will measure outcomes to inform future decisions about the potential for a full program.
• More than a dozen community partner recycling and composting programs were supported at area schools, nonprofits, government buildings and for the public.
• SWACO has proposed a Green Economy Business Park, a 350-acre sustainability destination that could generate more than 2,000 green jobs, more than $350 million in capital investment and more than $3 million in local revenue.
• All SWACO facilities now are powered by renewable energy, and our waste-to-energy facility continues to provide clean energy to 13,000 homes.
These are all worthy initiatives, and they are a testimony to our community’s commitment and our values. But there is more we can do to coordinate them and maximize their impact.
As we look to 2022, we must focus these sustainability efforts to meet the moment. Communities prioritizing environmental protection today will be competitive for the jobs of tomorrow. The region has made much progress on this front, but we need to strengthen our collaborative actions to reach our economic potential.
SWACO is excited to engage with both our public and private partners to push us forward to that goal next year and in the years to come.
Ty Marsh is executive director of SWACO. Questions about its operations may be directed to him at questions@swaco.org. His office provides this column to ThisWeek.
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: From Waste to Resources: Year of sustainability is reason to be proud, motivated
