Program hopes to increase homes recycling in Hilltop
In a first of its kind program, the city is partnering with the Greater Columbus landfill in hopes of increasing recycling rates in the Hilltop neighborhood on the West Side.
The community has a lower participation rate compared to the city’s average of about 75%, according to officials. Overall, the Hilltop participation rate is about 60%, but some portions of neighborhoods targeted for the pilot project have a participation rate of about 30% to 40%, said Tim Swauger, refuse administrator for the city of Columbus.
“We can really look at a route that Rumpke runs: ‘Okay this route here, participants have a much lower rate. This route participates higher. Why is that?’” he said. “That’s kind of what we’re trying to do through this study is to figure out what moves the needle on getting people to recycle more.”
Officials plan to track the results of the program in the next six months.
“We’re partnering to do a robust education and outreach effort to make sure that everyone who wants to recycle has a blue recycling cart and that they know what’s accepted for recycling,” said Hanna Greer-brown, communications manager for Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio.
The Hilltop has a total of 14,000 homes. However, this initiative will target 8,000 homes in the neighborhood and then micro-target 800 of those homes with the lowest participation rates, Swauger said.
The initiative is expected to be ongoing an could be started in other neighborhoods, if successful. Portions of the program will be funded by grants.
The goal is to increase the participation rate. Citywide, the goal is to reduce the amount of recyclable waste sent to the landfill by 40% by 2030. More than 1 million tons of waste is sent to the landfill each year. Nearly 76 percent of all the material in the landfill could have been recycled or composted.
“The city will even have an ambassador program where individuals go door to door to sign people up for new carts, drop off recycling education and answer questions (all in a COVID-SAFE way),” Greerbrown said.
Homes that do not have carts will be offered one with the fee waived if conditions are met.
“The ultimate idea is (ambassadors) live in those neighborhoods, and they help us in the future,” Swauger said. “When someone new moves in, there’s someone that can go over and say, ‘Hey, you know, this is how you recycle. This is how you schedule bulk pickup.’”
It’s been about 11 years since the city launched its household recycling program.
Over that time, “a lot of those containers have been misplaced, lost or damaged throughout the years. For some reason, in certain areas, they have not been reported to us to be replaced,” he said. “But as time has passed, residents change. You get turnover; you get rental properties where people come and go. They may not know that recycling was available to them, because when they moved in, there was no container there. This is really an education campaign to try to remind people that they have the ability to recycle, and then how to do it correctly.”
The Hilltop has been plagued for years by illegal dumping in alleyways and litter lining the streets.
Since late July, as of this year, the city has taken the following action in the Hilltop:
h Collected 1,140 tons of bulk, including 940 tires (about 8.5 tons).
h Filed 6 criminal charges against illegal dumpers in the Hilltop.
h Assessed civil penalties through Title 13 to correct more than 20 dumping issues
Swauger is hopeful that more recycling will mean less waste and less litter.
“We’re just continuing that fight,” he said. “We always want to be improving and reducing illegal dumping. So we’ve increased the fines; we’ve done enforcement. This is simply the next step in that fight.”
A separate initiative to begin recycling efforts in apartment complexes is expected to begin in mid-october.
What can you recycle in Franklin County?
You can recycle the following through home pick-up services:
h Paper and cardboard
h Plastic bottles, jugs and tubs – no other shapes
h Glass bottles and jars – no other shapes
h Metal cans (be sure to remove aerosol tips)
h Cartons
h Plastic cups and yogurt cups
h Cardboard/paperboard egg cartons
h Plastic containers used to store disinfectant like Clorox wipes
Not recyclable in Franklin County through home pick-up services:
h Plastic bags (Stores including Whole Foods, Target and Kroger accept plastic bags.)
h Takeout and microwave meal containers
h Styrofoam
h Anything with food on it, like greasy pizza boxes
h Lithium ion batteries (Stores including Verizon, Best Buy and Home Depot accept batteries for recycling.)
h Plastic egg cartons
h Clamshell plastic food containers SWACO will host a household hazardous waste drop-off event from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 2 at Kingston Center, 3226 Kingston Ave. in Grove City.
SWACO’S contractor, EEI Inc., also runs a Household Hazardous Waste Center located on the city’s North Side at 645 E. 8th Ave. For more information, call 614294-1300. bharvilla@dispatch.com @Beth_harvilla