The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and Upper Arlington Schools are launching a pilot program designed to create uniform recycling procedures for the district ‒ something officials hope will serve as a model for other districts. According to SWACO, roughly three-fourths of all material sent to the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill could have been reused, recycled or composted either through existing programs or with the advent of new regional infrastructure.
SWACO’s partnership with UA Schools is part of building that infrastructure. “Schools, colleges and universities are important partners in SWACO’s efforts to help Franklin County reach a landfill-diversion rate of 75% by 2032, as they generate a lot of materials that could be recycled or composted,” SWACO’s Executive Director Joe Lombardi said. “While there are a lot of good individual school recycling programs in place, we know from experience that there is a lot of inconsistency from school to school, even within a single school district.
“That’s why we are focused on working with key stakeholders like Upper Arlington City Schools to implement consistent, effective, sustainable recycling and food-waste programs throughout their facilities and campuses.” Among the first steps in the program was the Oct. 11 passage of a resolution by the board of education to enter into the partnership with SWACO.