SWACO is awarding more than $168,000 to 10 central Ohio organizations as part of the 2023 Community Waste Reduction Grant. The grant program is designed to provide funding to assist with projects that address the unique waste reduction, recycling, and composting needs in central Ohio, and that ultimately support SWACO’s mission of reducing reliance on the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill.
The list of 2023 grant recipients and their projects include:
- City of Columbus ($35,000) – Three new residential drop-off sites for food scrap composting.
- Goodwill Industries of Central Ohio Inc. ($35,000) – To help with the Goodwill Repair, Rebuild, Reuse project for furniture and pallets.
- Rescuing Leftover Cuisine ($29,400) – To provide for the expansion of their food waste donation.
- Columbus College of Art and Design ($20,200) – To hire a consultant to perform a campus sustainability audit, community engagement and waste reduction activities.
- Impact Community Action ($14,300) – Make improvements to public-facing recycling containers and composting for their community garden.
- Worthington Partnership ($13,176) – To expand and improve existing recycling in Downtown Worthington.
- MY Project USA ($6,755) – To create a recycling program for the non-profit and its youth center.
- City of Bexley ($6,625.27) – For the purchase of mobile niche recycling collection receptacles.
- New Albany Intermediate School ($5,698) – For the implementation of a cafeteria food waste composting program at school.
- Global Water Dances Columbus ($1,964)—To help increase recycling awareness and waste reduction through outreach and education during events.
“The grants program is an invaluable opportunity for SWACO to support our local organizations and communities to address their waste reduction goals and to bring them to life,” said SWACO’s Executive Director Joe Lombardi. “We’re thrilled to be able to help offset the costs for these ten incredible community partners doing meaningful work to reduce waste.”
In 2022, the grant program supported various waste reduction initiatives, including the installation of refillable water bottle filling stations in a local school district, the development of a Zero Waste Plan at a local university, and the implementation of single-stream recycling in city buildings and parks.
“Together, the 2022 efforts resulted in more than 70 tons of food waste composted, nearly 17 tons of single-stream recycled materials diverted from the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill, and more than 327,000 single-use plastic bottles saved, marking significant impacts in central Ohio,” said Kristi Higginbotham, SWACO Administrator of Grants.
SWACO is now accepting applications for the 2024 Community Waste Reduction Grant program. Eligible applicants must be local governmental or non-profit organizations including cities, townships, villages, parks, K-12 schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, and churches. The deadline to submit applications is August 4, 2023 for initiatives planned for the 2024 calendar year.