Beth Burger|The Columbus Dispatch
Each year theSolid Waste Authority of Central Ohio receives more than 1 million tons of materials that go into the landfill. A majority of those materials could be diverted throughrecycling,reuseor composting.
On Wednesday, SWACO unveiled its annual community impact report during a Columbus Metropolitan Club discussionthat showed in 2020, there was an initial uptick in waste during the pandemic of 30%, which laterdropped off.
"You don't have all that waste coming in from commercial entities, which would include schools and small businesses. Initially, that was offset by a tremendous surge in residential," said Ty Marsh, executive director of theSolid Waste Authority of Central Ohio."What we were finding is thatmore people were home, so therefore there was more residential waste being generated. We believe that initially, people were cleaning out their basem*nts and were looking for things to do."
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Marsh, along withScott Barbour, CEO of Hilliard-based Advanced Drainage Systems, andMichelle Crandall, city manager of Hilliard, were part of the Metropolitan Club discussion on sustainability on Wednesday where the report was unveiled. (This reporter was the moderator.)
Overall, the landfill's tonnage decreased last year going from 1.23 million tons in 2019 to 1.19 million tons in 2020.
Residents in central Ohio are already diverting50% of waste from the landfill, which outpaces recycling rates in other parts of the country. However,the goal is to increase that to 75% by 2032.
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To hit more aggressive goals,Marsh said, it will take more partnerships and programs to make it convenient for residents and businesses.
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There are many benefits for diverting the waste. Less waste means there will be less methane being emitted from the landfill. The landfill is the largest emitter of methane in the county with171,427 metric tons of methane released in 2019, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Age data.
Methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. It canabsorbthe sun’s heat 80 times more readily than carbon dioxide and contributes to warming the atmosphere. Ohio’s temperatures, which are already warming, are expected torise by 4 to 6 degrees Fahrenheit by mid-centuryif emissions aren’t lowered.
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The benefits don't stop at mitigating climate change. Waste stream materials going into the landfill could generate an estimated $23 million if used to create new products and lead to job creation, according to the report.
"It's an economic equation as well as an environmental equation and that's really the bigger direction that we're trying to go in. You can have both and you should have both," Marsh said.
Advanced Drainage Systems uses 550 million pounds of recycled plastic to create pipes to manage stormwater runoff. The global company touts itself as the second-largest plastic recycling company in America.
Marsh is hopeful there can be other success stories aside from ADS. SWACO announced last year it is working to create a green energy business park on 350 acres in Grove City. The partnership includes Grove City, JobsOhio andOne Columbus.
"Wewill attract companies that we use portions of our waste stream, and other activities that would convert materials into other products, or change them into materials that can be used in other processes. This is the kind of jobs that we want to attract to this facility," Marsh said. "It's exciting."
Next for SWACO: Composting and apartment recycling
Aside from materials being diverted, central Ohio is in need of a large-scale composting facility to enable food waste from going to the landfill. Nearly a million pounds of food are sent to the landfill each day.
Dublin, Upper Arlington, Westerville and Hilliard are among the metro cities that have food waste collection sites for residents. Hilliard is the latest city to receive grant funding to create to community food waste drop off sites.
In order to expand those programs more broadly, "We've got to haverecycling infrastructure to do that," Marsh said.
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All of Franklin County's cities offer curbside recycling for single family homes. However, there's no program in place for multi-family housing such as apartment complexes. A pilot is expected to take place this year with the city of Columbus and the Falls Church, Virginia-based Recycling Partnership to find solutions.
"It's going to be a pilot program with 20,000 units," Marsh said. "Some of the issues are quite simply the owner of the land in the apartment complex does not have space, nor wants to provide space for recycling bins. If you havea multi-story apartment building, how do you do recycling? So these are challenges. This is what we want to learn and grow from in this pilot program.That's the next frontier."
bburger@dispatch.com
@ByBethBurger
