WastED - A Waste and Recycling Podcast by SWACO

Columbus Seeks To Be A National Leader On Waste Reform

• Hanna Greer-Brown

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A national spotlight landed in Columbus, and we were ready for it. Hosting a major recycling and waste management conference downtown gave us the perfect backdrop to show how practical changes—like weekly curbside recycling, free convenience centers, and expanded food scrap drop-offs—are helping residents waste less while strengthening our local economy. Hanna and Joe sit down with Mayor Andrew Ginther to dig into the city’s climate action targets, the momentum behind youth education, and why most recyclables collected here stay in Ohio.

We talk through the results of moving to weekly recycling, including a double-digit participation boost, more than 34,000 tons collected, and a reduction in trash headed to the landfill. From there, we tackle food waste. Central Ohio discards over a million pounds of food scraps each day, so the city’s drop-off sites and event rescues at festivals like Jazz and Rib Fest are turning surplus into meals and scraps into compost.  That cuts methane and supports our neighbors. You’ll also hear how convenience centers accept styrofoam, furniture, clothing, and electronics at no cost, thanks to partnerships with us at SWACO, Goodwill, the Furniture Bank, and local refurbishers that keep materials moving in a circular loop.

Myth busting gets its due too in this episde.  Yes, empty pizza boxes with a little grease are recyclable. We connect the dots between accessible services, clear education, and a thriving circular economy that creates thousands of jobs while protecting limited landfill space. If you care about real results, local impact, and practical steps you can use during the holidays and beyond, this conversation will give you the playbook.

If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a friend who’s skeptical about recycling, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find WastED!


SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Waste Ed. A waste and recycling podcast by Swaco. Welcome to our November episode of Waste Ed. November brought the city of Columbus a first, and we're still really excited about it. Arcon, a national leading conference on waste and recycling management, was hosted in downtown for the first time. So Central Ohio and Swaco got to show off some of our great things we're doing to reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost.

SPEAKER_02:

And leading the charge for Columbus and the welcoming speaker at ArchCon joins us today. We are so happy to have Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. Welcome to the show, Mayor.

SPEAKER_01:

Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and the beauty of it was I I was able to introduce him at Archcon, which made him a little nervous because I had a live mic in my hand. So anytime I have a microphone in my hand, it could get uh it could get dangerous. But uh Mayor, thank you for joining us. And Columbus was proud to host a debut of Archcon and bringing over 1,600 people to that event and all around the recycling industry and the waste industry. And that was great for our city. What does that say about our efforts and sustainability to host such an event?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think it really shows, you know, that this community is committed uh to building a future uh for everyone, a commitment to sustainability. As you know, we put in place the city's first ever climate action plan and uh really wanting to lead in ways that uh we as a city, I mean, we're a national leader and we ought to be leading in this space as well. And so having the very first uh our con uh conference uh hosted here in Columbus after their rebranding and renaming and the first time ever for our city was pretty exciting. And people uh I got great feedback from the folks that I met with that were here, many of them for the first time. I mean, we know that there are many folks that come to Columbus for the first time and fall in love with the place and had no idea. And getting them here is is is an important part of that.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, when you don't have mountains or an ocean. An ocean. I mean, Columbus has a lot to offer, there's no doubt about it. Um there's plenty more to talk about our COM, but let's dive into some key initiatives. Uh the City of Columbus is the largest customer that we serve at Swaco and one of our closest partners. And we've done some great things already, as you know. We've opened three new convenience centers together that are free to our residents to use, awarding food waste reduction grants uh to eight organizations that are local. And when you're out and about, what are you hearing from residents about what they want in these types of services?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, folks are very clear. They want to see the outstanding levels of service continued. They want uh stuff picked up on time, they want weekly recycling, they want various options for alternative waste recycling, such as what we provided are waste and reuse centers and food scrap drop-off locations. They're looking for more ways to do the right thing. Uh, and I'm really excited to see the way young people have reacted because I know that our family started recycling growing up because uh all of us kids drove my parents crazy. They were not recyclers until all the kids kind of banded together and said this is the right thing to do, and and and it's great positive uh pressure within a family uh and kids are continuing to raise their hand the leaded way.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, speaking of our young people, we have to highlight the Ohio State University. They're doing so much at major events to reuse and recycle. Plus, at Swaco, we're always talking to our young people before they get to college. We host thousands of students at the landfill every year. Young people are definitely engaged here in Central Ohio. But how do we keep the momentum going?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely right, and continue to build that movement and using the energy, excitement, and commitment of young people to build that movement. I can tell you that Keep Columbus Beautiful as a program is in classrooms, engaging with young people every week. And that level of education drives change, both at home and throughout the community, uh, because young people, as I mentioned, have always led the way.

SPEAKER_02:

And I think I can say this for the whole staff at Swaco. I know I make them a little crazy at times, but I'm a big proponent of let's get in our schools, let's get the young people educated because they're going to make us do the right thing as adults. And we really push our schools program um as much as I can. And we appreciate your support in doing what you guys are doing. And, you know, in central Ohio, 76% of the materials arriving to our landfill could have been reused, recycled, or composted. We all want that number to decrease, but how can we keep this message going, Mayor? What would be your advice for us to keep this message going?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think the holidays are a perfect time as we're around the table to talk about this in the next few months. There are going to be uh food scraps and packaging from gifts like cardboard boxes. It's a great time to talk to everyone about how important it is to reuse and recycle this holiday season. I mean, some of the numbers you shared would be concerning if we were a community that wasn't growing. But we're gonna grow as a region by a third more over the next 30 to 50 years. So this is this is important more important now than ever before for us to do our part. And there's so many little things that we can do that can make such a huge difference. But I think the holidays, uh, holidays are a great way. We're we're around, we're together with family, talk about these things, and they're very specific things we can do around the holidays to be part of the solution.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and I know Hannah, you know, we get asked a lot, we're like, what keeps me up at night? And I'm saying the growth. The growth that's coming to Columbus. We have one landfill, and we need to take care of that is an asset to our community, and we need to do the best we can to reduce what comes in there. You know, Mayor, you mentioned earlier the climate action plan that you put in place in 2020, and and then broadly it includes goals to reduce pollution, waste, and carbon neutrality by 2050. But can you describe some of the efforts to meet those goals?

SPEAKER_01:

We're really excited about it. This is the city's first ever climate action plan, and we adopted it, as you mentioned, back in 2021. Uh, and we set some aggressive goals to divert 90% of organic materials and 95% of recyclables from landfills, and to create more than 1,000 jobs in the circular economy by 2050. Uh we're making some steady progress toward these goals, and as they are a key part of our path toward carbon neutrality, the city now picks up recycling weekly, which has led to a double-digit increase, 15% in recycling, which is uh great news and and really appreciate the the response and the engagement and the leadership from the community. Back in 2023, the city moved from collecting residential recycling curbside every other week to weekly collection, and that change to weekly collection led to more than 34,000 tons of recyclables being collected. And as a result of the change to weekly recycling plus education efforts by the city, there was a 3% total reduction of the trash uh sent to the landfill. A good step uh toward our climate action plan goals.

SPEAKER_00:

That's really incredible. And as a resident of the City of Columbus, I just want to take the opportunity to say thank you. Um it is really nice to be able to recycle every week at home, and I know uh many residents of the City of Columbus share that appreciation for that. So thank you for your leadership on that. The other big issue facing our community is food waste reduction. We see a million tons or a million pounds of food waste arriving at um the Franklin County landfill every day, and the city is a uh partner with Swaco and helping us meet our goal to reduce that number. Tell our listeners a little bit about your food waste drop-off sites that are free for residents to use.

SPEAKER_01:

This is a big issue, and and you mentioned this Central Ohio throws away more than a million pounds of food a day. Uh when this food decomposes in the landfill, it produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes significantly to climate change. So in 2023, in partnership with you all, we launched a food scraps drop-off program. The program has since grown from three locations to nine where residents can drop off the food waste uh for free. To date, that program has collected and diverted more than a hundred tons of wasted food that has been composted instead of going to the landfill. Uh some great progress, and and we look forward to continuing to build that momentum and get more folks involved.

SPEAKER_02:

And I know we work very closely with Keep Columbus Beautiful with our Save More Than Food program, and we appreciate the efforts, especially you're the largest customer that we have, 800, almost 900,000 people and more to come. So anything we can do to help in that regard, please uh reach out to us. Um, you know, we mentioned OSU and the work that they do at events like football games at the SHU. And you're jumping into this as well as a city. Uh, the events like the Jazz and Rib Fest. Uh, you know, you have multiple departments working together to increase food waste aversion at city events. Tell us more about these efforts.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, for the past two years, city teams have been rescuing food at our Jazz and Rib Festival. Uh more than a thousand pounds of food from Jazz and Ribs was diverted from the landfill this summer. Uh, the efforts of collaboration between our public service and public health departments, along with Columbus Food Rescue, which is a program of local matters. The food rescue date events like this is either given to those who are food insecure or to a kitchen that turns the perfectly good food into healthy meals for those in need. So a great program helps to meet so many great causes and be able to serve our neighbors and protect our environment at the same time.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah, and we talk a lot about it, Swaco. You know, recycling is one thing, but we really need to look at repurposing, reducing, and reusing. And that's exactly what you're doing there when you're donating food to these uh businesses. Uh Mayor, you mentioned this earlier uh as the holidays are upon us, uh, there will be a lot of styrofoam. Um there will be a lot of styrofoam coming. And styrofoam recycling too now is available at several of our drop-off spots. Tell us a little bit about what the city has done in terms of styrofoam recycling.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's uh a great partnership again with Swaco. We accept styrofoam for recycling at both of our waste and reuse conven uh convenience centers. So in 2024 alone, the city reported a 9,000 ton reduction in trash. Wow. And at these centers, it's also free for residents to drop off non-hazardous materials like furniture, clothes, electronics, and more. Partnerships with organizations like Goodwill, the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, and Columbus Micro help us reuse, repurpose, or recycle these items. The circular economy that we're trying to build here in Central Ohio. So this year, residents diverted more than 230 tons of items from landfills by utilizing the recycling services offered at these two centers. So a great, a great start uh to this continued partnership.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I know I've seen you speak at a number of events, and I often hear you talk about the Columbus way and how we lead in all kinds of areas. Everything we're talking about here today reminds me of the circular economy and one that you've mentioned a couple of times. That's an economy that grows by being more sustainable and protecting valuable resources like land and water. What does a circular economy mean to you as a mayor, and how do you see or witness it throughout the city of Columbus?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, the regional recycling industry here in Columbus supports six times six times more jobs than landfilling. That's thousands of jobs that are reliant on the circular economy. Ninety-five percent of the recyclables we collect go to businesses here in America, with a vast majority of those items remaining in Ohio and in the Midwest. So if we generate waste in Columbus and it can be turned into something else, it keeps it out of the landfill, which we've already said is a top priority, and it creates jobs here in our community, and that's uh what we mean around a circular economy.

SPEAKER_02:

You know, in another way uh Central Ohio leads the charge. I think a lot of our own residents might not even know we have one of the nation's most state-of-the-art recovery and recycling centers right in our backyard, operated by our partners at Rumpkey. Uh that facility likely helps us recruit and win conferences like Archon.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. As an industry, recycling in Ohio supports more than 3,100 local businesses, gainfully employing more than 98,000 of our neighbors. More than 90% of the materials sent to the Rumkey Recycling and Resource Center in Columbus stay right here in Ohio. It's the efficiency and service of refuse collection. We're the largest city to pick up the trash five days a week and drives every street at least once a week. And it helps us attract all kinds of conventions because we're continuing to lead the way.

SPEAKER_02:

And and what we don't realize a lot of times is we talk about the population growth, but we don't talk about the amount of people who come into Columbus every day to work, to play, and to eat. And we have to remember that as part of our efforts to continue uh to divert material away from the landfill. I'm sure you are aware of a lot of myth busting. Uh sometimes people will say, well, I just don't know that my recyclables are actually getting recycled. And we can say, at least I can and Hannah and you, that they actually do. I mean, for example, aluminum cans that are recycled are back on the local store shelves in less than 60 days. So how can we keep myth busting together, Mayor?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, you know, our Keep Columbus Beautiful program focuses on public education and volunteer service related to litter, recycling, and beautification. Here's a myth buster for you pizza boxes. People think that if they have a little bit of cheese or grease on them, they cannot be recycled. Guess what? As long as it doesn't have a piece of pizza or food in it, it can go in the blue recycling containers, even if there's some grease or a little cheese left over. I think this is another great place for us to use young people. Uh, they are far more tech savvy, uh active on social media. So when these myths and these things need to be debunked, if we arm uh young people with good information, uh they can fight back and share uh good information that helps people make the right choice.

SPEAKER_02:

Aaron Powell Yeah, and I can tell you we you know, you speaking of leaving pizza in a box, I recently celebrated my son's birthday, and there was absolutely not a piece of pizza left in the box. I can guarantee you he made sure of that.

SPEAKER_00:

So And that you recycled your body.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, we did. We we were in Northeast Ohio, but yes, we we did. We did.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, as we start to wrap it up, Mayor, let's come back to our KON in this way. Having this conference here really exemplifies the spirit with which Central Ohio is leading through innovation, advocacy, investments, and partnerships. You're an advocate for education. How can we keep educating the public here in Central Ohio and nationally about the way in which we are leading in the circular economy?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, our vision for Columbus is to be a national leader in circular innovation, where waste is designed out of the system. We want materials to circulate responsibly, businesses, governments, and communities collaborate to build a more resilient future. Our team is talking with cities around the state and country about how we educate and operate in waste and recycling. We know we are a leading city, uh, but this lets us learn from others. There's an old saying uh as a former past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors that good mayors borrow, great mayors steal ideas from other mayors in the road. Uh that that way we can stay on top of what is new and exciting in waste and recycling, uh, share best practices, but also gather new ideas from partners around the country.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that's a great segue to our final question of the podcast. So as we look to the future, mayor, when we are talking about reuse, reduce, and recycle, what's on the horizon for the city?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think you know, Columbus is and will continue to be a leader in waste diversion. Uh I believe strongly our work on reducing wasted food, especially through efforts, educating residents around creatively using leftovers, food rescue, and compost to build momentum, educate, and lead as a city.

SPEAKER_02:

Mayor, we can't thank you enough. I know you have a very busy schedule and it takes some time out of your day to spend with Hannah and I to talk about the issues we all face when it comes to waste and reducing that waste. And really want to thank you for your leadership here in the city of Columbus and your partnership and your public service over all the years that you've been providing public service to our community. Um, I can't thank you enough. And uh Swaco really appreciates you being here today.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you so much, and uh, I'm excited about what is on the horizon uh for Columbus. I say that the the sun is always rising in Columbus, and I think this is another place uh by engaging, sharing information, building this movement, particularly amongst young people, uh, this place is going to be a dynamic, sustainable, uh, beautiful community for decades uh to come.

SPEAKER_00:

What a wonderful way to wrap this up. Uh, to our listeners, if you'd like to know more about what we do, visit our website anytime at Swaco.org. We also want to hear from you. If you have ideas for future podcast episodes, connect with us on any of our social channels, or you can always drop us an email. Until the next time, this is Waste Ed, a waste and recycling podcast by Swaco.