WastED - A Waste and Recycling Podcast by SWACO
WastED is a waste and recycling education podcast from SWACO. Hosted monthly by Joe Lombardi and Hanna Greer-Brown, our guests offer insights into regional efforts helping to push sustainability forward as well as sharing their perspective on the next big GREEN thing for central Ohio. Between a few laughs plus genuine and substantive conversation, each episode features takeaways about proper disposal that will have listeners recycling right in no time. Find us on Spotify, Apple Music or wherever you listen!
WastED - A Waste and Recycling Podcast by SWACO
SWACO's Sustainable Summer: Less Stuff and More Fun
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Your summer can be full of pool days, cookouts, and road trips without turning into a season of extra trash and extra clutter. Hanna and Joe talk us through realistic sustainable summer tips that work for busy families, hosts, and anyone trying to reduce waste without giving up the fun. Along the way, we share a few favorite local experiences that make great gifts and even better memories, from museums to escape rooms to kayaking.
They're joined by Amy Densborn, SWACO Program Manager, and Leah Cordier, SWACO Communications Administrator, to swap practical ideas you can use right away. Think: packing a low-waste beach bag with a reusable water bottle and reusable snack containers and finding refilleries for personal care items like sunscreen. Plus, grilling with less waste using tools like reusable grill baskets and cedar planks instead of aluminum foil.
We also answer a common summer question: what to do with empty propane tanks, including exchange programs and when it makes sense to bring a tank to SWACO’s Household Hazardous Waste site for recycling.
Then we get into one of the biggest wins of the season: reducing food waste. We share simple leftover rules for hot weather, freezer strategies, and planning tips for everything from a family cookout to a big party. You’ll also hear about SWACO’s free resources like our Sign Maker Tool and an 'estimator' to help you buy the right amount of food. If you like practical sustainability, recycling, composting, and smart local living, this one’s for you.
Subscribe to WastED, share with a friend who hosts cookouts, and share your best summer sustainable fun!
Summer Memories And Welcome
SPEAKER_01Welcome to Waste Ed. A waste and recycling podcast by Swaco. Welcome to our latest episode of Waste Ed, a podcast brought to you by Swaco. You can just smell the sunscreen, the grill, and the pool chlorine as summer is in full swing. Let's go quickly around the horn and share a favorite summer memory from each of our childhood. Joes, we'll start with you.
SPEAKER_00Um, I'd have to say probably a bunch of friends getting on bikes and riding down to the pool and spending a whole day at the pool and then riding around the town afterwards and then coming home in time for dinner.
SPEAKER_01Sounds like summertime freedom.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Leah, how about you? That sounds fun. For me, it was family trips to the beach or the mountains in Tennessee. So can't go wrong with either of those. Yeah. Amy?
SPEAKER_02Man, I loved the slip and slide. Do you remember that thing? Yeah. You would run and get a going start and slide down it. Can you imagine doing one of those today at our size? We'd probably be sore than this. Very sore.
SPEAKER_00I might stop halfway down. Well, you've heard their voices. Now let us introduce today's guest. Amy Densbourne is our program manager, and Leah Cortier is our communications administrator here at Swaco. Thanks to both of you for joining us.
SPEAKER_01Of course. Happy to be here. Thanks for having us. Well, let's dive right into our sustainable summer fun.
Local Experiences Over More Stuff
SPEAKER_01Uh the Columbus Museum of Art just announced that visitors ages 25 and under, plus a caregiver, are going to get free admission to the museum this summer. What a cool gift idea.
SPEAKER_03Absolutely. I actually went to the Columbus Museum of Art. Um, it's one of my favorite things to do, especially on Sundays when it's free on Sundays. I have no idea what I'm looking at half the time, but I enjoy it. I go with my husband. It's a really fun thing that we love to do.
SPEAKER_02They also have a fantastic head area where the kids can actually make art and it's interactive. So if you've got little ones, it's a great place to take kids on a Sunday and get out of the heat this summer.
SPEAKER_01I agree. And that's a relatively recent development. I feel like they re- renovated the Museum of Art not too long ago and added that beautiful children's space. So well, this is a great example of an experience-based opportunity. And at Suaco, we like to talk about giving experiences instead of actual things. Amy, tell us a little bit about why that's so important.
SPEAKER_02I think we all can agree that we have enough stuff in our houses. Oh, do we really need to purchase more things? Some things, sure. But experiences are memories that last a lifetime. Give the gift of an experience to Kosai, to the Art Museum, to the Franklin Park Conservatory. These are gems that we have in our community. Those memberships can help give the gift of the experience and the memories over and over again.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know my son's girlfriend is down in Cincinnati for three months on a part of schooling. And so my wife bought him tickets to the Newport Aquarium down there. That's what we're going to set up something for her apartment that she'll be in for three months. So that would be fun.
SPEAKER_02That's so fun. Because then you know you might have to move that thing out of the apartment one day. That's right.
SPEAKER_00Well, she's gonna come back after three months.
SPEAKER_02So it's also a low-waist solution, too, right? And so you're not bringing in more items in the house that you maybe eventually have to move andor get rid of. Yep.
SPEAKER_01Well, Leah, you're the brains behind Swaco's social media program, and I know you're always generating uh fun, gift-giving ideas. So let's talk some specifics. What ideas do you have for someone who's looking for an experience for an upcoming birthday or father's day or even just an upcoming cookout or picnic?
SPEAKER_03For sure. For birthdays. I love going to escape rooms. Fun fact I met my husband on an escape room. So that was really good. Um, cooking classes really help too, um, especially if someone doesn't know how to cook or you're trying to get better. That's uh it's like a nice way to be like, hey, here's a gift, but you're helping me out as well. Um for Father's Day, kayaking, or for like Joe, a round of golf a dad. My level is more like putt-putt, but yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's fine too.
SPEAKER_01I love putt-putt. Well, community pools are also open and packed right now. Plus,
Build A Low Waste Beach Bag
SPEAKER_01people are heading to lakes in Ohio and beaches all over. What are some tips you guys might have for someone who wants to pack a more sustainable pool or beach bag?
SPEAKER_03I think using a reusable water bottle is great. And if you have just a bag hanging around the house, like a maybe a tote, or even if it's a reusable shopping bag, that's a great way to store everything. And also checking out our local refilleries for getting that sunscreen is a great option.
SPEAKER_02I'll also say I'm a big fan of snacks at the pool. And not all the time, the pools don't always have snacks or they're not open. So unpacking your snacks in those silicone snack bags and those reusable containers and making sure that you're not hungry while you're at the pool.
SPEAKER_00That's right.
Grilling Ideas With Less Waste
SPEAKER_00And you know, just speaking of Father's Day, I had to cook on the grill uh for me and for everybody else on Father's Day. But who doesn't like the smell of a good grill during the summer? And anyone here have a favorite thing they like to grill. For me personally, I do I don't mind doing hamburgers, and I've been trying to get better at steaks. That's that's been my key.
SPEAKER_02That's a tricky one. Steaks, right? Yeah, it'd be a challenge. You don't want to overcook it. So some of my favorite things, and maybe maybe a little bit of an odd thing to cook on the grill, beets. Have you ever had grilled beets? No. I uh I I meet people and they tell me, Oh, I don't like beets, and I'm like, but have you had them grilled yet? And I can convert them over to like beets. So just some olive oil, salt, and pepper, you slice them up and you throw them on the grill and you just flip them over after two or three minutes, and they are delicious. They stay kind of crunchy. If you don't overcook them. Yeah. If you're a better, if you're a better grill master than me, my husband makes them perfectly.
SPEAKER_03He's the grill master in our house.
SPEAKER_00Leah.
SPEAKER_03I love that. Um, I maybe I'm gonna try some beets later on, but for me, it's anything and everything. Um, if I can think about putting on the grill, I'm gonna I'm going to. My current fixation, which hasn't worked out that well, but I'm I'm still trying, is to put a pizza on a grill.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I don't have it like a wood fire grill. It's a regular grill. And in my head, it's gonna work. I'm on like round three. Yeah, but it's gonna work.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm gonna try it when no one's home but me in case it goes bad. My frustration with it. There you go. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, Joe, I hope you uh this makes you feel better, but you aren't alone. My husband also grilled for the entire family on Father's Day. So I think there are a lot of dads and and father figures in front of the grill.
SPEAKER_00Yep. I think we've asked this question before at one of our staff meetings, but I want to ask it today on the Waste Dead podcast. You guys like gas grill or charcoal grill?
SPEAKER_03That's a hard one for me. I love the flavor of a charcoal grill, but somehow I just happen to have a gas grill. So I think I have to go with the gas, and it's what's accessible.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Amy?
SPEAKER_02I do also enjoy the flavor of the charcoal grill, but my patience um can't quite uh withstand how long it takes to get the charcoal ready. So I typically default to the propane gas grill.
SPEAKER_01They're just so much easier.
SPEAKER_00I'm also a gas grill. Okay, yeah, I am too. And it's the patience. It's really the patience.
SPEAKER_02If you have time to plan, it's great.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So speaking of planning, what are some of the best tips for preparing food and grilling sustainably?
SPEAKER_03One of the things I really love to do is use a reusable grill basket. So for veggies, um, it's like very easy to clean, it's handy, it's quick to put on a plate. So it's one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_02So I'm a big fan of uh salmon, cooking salmon on the grill. And have you ever crooked cooked salmon or grilled salmon with on a cedar plank? It helps to avoid the aluminum foil so it all stays contained and um it doesn't like fall apart on the grill. And then you can reuse that cedar plank. So that's something that we've gotten. Um, you know, it's like five bucks for a pack of two, and then you can clean them off and reuse them over and over again about five times before they have to be composted.
SPEAKER_00Okay. Well, I I've used the basket with my salmon, so I'll have to try to plank them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, sounds like a great way to put some additional flavor into your salmon filet. Well, we've probably all been in this next situation that I'm gonna describe.
Propane Tank Options And Recycling
SPEAKER_01You're at you've got all your supplies together, your food is ready to go, you fire up the grill, and your propane tank is empty. Or maybe even worse yet, it goes empty or belly up when your food is actually cooking. What should we do with those empty propane tanks?
SPEAKER_02So, with an empty propane tank, if you're looking to refill it, I would recommend taking it to many CVS's, Walgreens, gas stations offer an exchange program where you can actually exchange your propane tank for a new, a new one. Um, it's cheaper than buying it brand new. If you if say your propane tank is on its last leg, it cannot be refilled, it's got a big dent or it's rusted. You can always take that empty propane tank to Swaco's Household Hazardous Waste site and it'll be recycled. It's office um 645 East Eighth Avenue and open Monday through Friday.
SPEAKER_00I have those little ones that I know they can't refill, and I've taken those to our uh permanent HHW site.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, they should make a way to refill those right now, you think Joe?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, they they go out by the way they go out quick.
SPEAKER_01You're talking about the ones you sometimes say can't be.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, let's talk leftovers a
Leftovers That Stay Safe And Useful
SPEAKER_01little bit. I know we have our Save More Than Food campaign here at Swaco that we like to um share leftover tips through, and we encourage people to go to save more than food.org. But ladies, tell us, how long do leftovers from the grill stay good to eat?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so if you get your leftovers and place them in the fridge, um, I'd say up to a week, they should be fine. Um, I would just make sure they're not sitting out in the heat for more than an hour to two hours before they are removed from the heat and placed in your refrigerator. If you have excess food, a trick that I like to do, maybe I am kind of burnt out on the pasta salad from my recent picnic. I I half it and I put it in the freezer and then I just store it away for a future day when I'm less burnt out on that pasta salad.
SPEAKER_01That's a great tip. And leftovers usually stay good in the freezer a lot longer, don't they?
SPEAKER_02They sure do. They say six months, but I'm here to tell you I've eaten leftovers uh from the freezer to a year. And it's just fine.
SPEAKER_00I have four leftover hot dogs still from Father's Day. Oh, I'm gonna eat them. Okay. That might be lunch. That might be lunch someday here. So Leah, there's all kinds of get-togethers. The size are different, but let's just say for an average family of four, how can they reduce food waste when they're having a cookout and it's just four of them?
SPEAKER_03I think planning ahead and just knowing how much you eat. So if you have a young kid or um there's maybe just a family of some teenagers, just knowing everyone's kind of portion sizes works really well. And also preparing for leftovers. Something I like to do is if I'm cooking chicken, maybe I'll throw a couple extra chicken breasts on the grill so that way I'm having barbecue chicken, you're gonna see it again in the salad, and you're probably gonna see it again in some nachos later on. So just making sure we're using up everything that we're buying. Then, of course, if you know you have leftovers again and it maybe you didn't put in the freezer or those food scraps, put those in the compost bin, and we have you know uh over 30 food drop-off sites here across Franklin County, which is amazing.
SPEAKER_00That's great. And Amy, I'm gonna pose this one to you. Um, and I'm getting ready to do something of this size very shortly as my daughter's uh getting ready to get married in August, but we're gonna do uh a nice cookout at the end of July just to have some folks over. So probably be about 20, 20 plus people, or maybe someone's hosting a 4th of July party and they don't know exactly how many people are gonna show up. How can they reduce a big party food waste?
SPEAKER_02It's a great
Cut Party Waste With Better Planning
SPEAKER_02question. And and depending on your level of commitment, um the first thing you can do in the hierarchy of the Rs is reduce, reuse, recycle. So reduce reduction and reusing are the best. If you're willing to do reusables, that's the most sustainable solution for that party. Maybe that isn't possible for your party. You're gonna have 50 people there and you just know you're not gonna do all those dishes. So you're gonna pick disposable, single-use disposable. Pick items that can either be recycled or composted. So look for those items that are made from products that can go in the recycling stream or can be dropped off at one of those compost locations that Leah mentioned earlier. Also, signage is key for your different waste stations. Having clear signage, which Swaco can help you with. We have a we have a sign maker tool where it's free signage that you can customize that let your people at your party know what's accepted in your recycling your trash in your compost stream.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I've used that for parties at our house. I'm glad to hear it. Tape them up on the walls. Yeah, it's so easy. Still people don't read, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02Sometimes too, I think giving a little giving a little shout out at the beginning of the party is helpful. I'll come to your party and do that for you, Joe.
SPEAKER_00That'd be great. That'd be great.
SPEAKER_02Get them kind of bought into the process, but I understand that can be uh a little bit harder sometimes.
SPEAKER_00That's
Free Sign Maker And Guesstimator
SPEAKER_00great.
SPEAKER_01So if someone's listening and they want to take advantage of that free signage, where do they go? And uh what what do they look for when they get to that website?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so if for the sign maker tool, you're going to recyclewrite.org and there is an icon called sign maker tool. That's correct. Yep. Thank you, Leah. Leah made that website, so we need to check with her. It's only available to our um desktop users, so it's not available for our mobile users. Um and so when you go there, there's um options for you to download pre-made signs, but you can also customize your own signs if you've got a unique waste stream.
SPEAKER_01I love that. And then you just print it at home on your home computer printer, right? That's correct. So has anyone around the table used the guesstimator tool?
SPEAKER_03I have. So I tried it out for Thanksgiving for the first time and it worked great. And then I've been trying really hard. I'm someone who loves RSVPs. So I will send out reminders like you did not RSVP, I'm going to the store tomorrow. Yeah. I need to know. Yeah. Because I need to put in the guesstimator tool. I need to know how much. Well, it's also how much work do I have to do.
SPEAKER_01So it is a really useful tool. Not only can you put in the number of people you want to serve, you can input um how many main um dishes you want to have, how many side dishes. You can calculate the number of leftovers you might want. So it is very um useful, and I agree. I've used it for big holidays as well. So well, I want to switch gears a
Travel Plans And Staycation Benefits
SPEAKER_01little bit. Um, summertime reminds me of um long weekends and travel. So who's going somewhere fun this summer and is wants to share it with our listeners?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, a few weeks. I'll be headed down to New Orleans, which will be exciting, but other than that, I'm staying put a little bit. New Orleans, it'll be hot there, Leah. I'm I'm ready for it.
SPEAKER_02Bring me back some uh Jimbalaya. Yeah, absolutely. That and some beignets I got you. Oh yeah. I am heading up to Michigan. I'm going north. I do not like the heat. I would not, you would not catch me in New Orleans in July. Um, I'm heading up to Michigan, northern Michigan. We're gonna camp on an island for five days with a three-year-old. Wish me luck.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that'd be fun.
SPEAKER_01Does your three-year-old like to camp?
SPEAKER_02She likes being outdoors, she loves being outdoors. We're gonna go fishing and boating and all those fun things.
SPEAKER_00I have never been up in northern Michigan, but I hear it's beautiful up there.
SPEAKER_02It is beautiful.
SPEAKER_00How about you, Anna?
SPEAKER_01You know, I um am busy with a travel baseball schedule for one of my sons. So I'm checking out all the local cities in the Midwest uh pretty much every weekend. How about you, Joe?
SPEAKER_00Um, like I said, we're we've got this big uh wedding coming up in August. So we probably will take a vacation soon after, probably in the fall, maybe go down to Hilton Head and just get away from it all.
SPEAKER_01Well, something that's become really popular are staycations. More and more people are just staying home and enjoying um time here around the city and in our suburbs, um, especially with the price of gas. Uh, what sustainable and environmental benefits does a staycation offer our listeners?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, one of the best benefits is that we help support local businesses. I love going on a little coffee tour scene where the new spots I can find. Um I recently moved kind of into Reynoldsburg area, so five bean coffee, and I found out they do composting, so all this really cool, fun stuff. And then you'll head over maybe to the metro parks afterwards for a nice walk. I'm walking off all that um frappuccino I just got. So I love a good staycation.
SPEAKER_01Well, our metro parks are really special. Um, there are so many of them, and they're not too far away, and they just they offer something different for everyone. So I love that you mentioned the metro parks. Amy, what about you? Any thoughts on sustainability associated with staycations?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I think it comes back to me uh the stuff that accumulates in your house. I have a small house, and so I try to be very thoughtful about what comes into my home. And so um staycations often means that I'm not accumulating those souvenirs, those cool cups, those chotskis, as Joe likes to call them, call them. Um, and so instead I'm just checking out the um the local businesses, the metro parks, enjoying myself in nature, um, having those experiences and avoiding all the additional stuff in the house.
SPEAKER_01Well,
Back To School With Less Buying
SPEAKER_01soon enough we our vacations and staycations will behind us and we will be thinking about back to school. So let me ask um for those of us who are already maybe starting to think about back to school in the end of August, what can families do now to reduce waste, save money, and prepare for a more sustainable school year?
SPEAKER_03I think the first place they should start is just kind of do a quick inventory of what you already have. So if there's anything left over from last school year, um, just see what your starting point is. That'd be my first recommendation.
SPEAKER_02That's a great one, Leah. Um, auditing what you currently have in your home before you go to the store. Another one I think people often forget about is looking on uh swaps, free free cycle pages, pre-cycle events, and looking for those items or even Facebook Marketplace, those items that are very gently used, but a really good price point for our wallets. Um, and that's even better for the environment when you buy secondhand.
SPEAKER_01Well, the auditing of what we already have on hand should be easy for some parents out there because I know my boys came in from the last day of school and we never unpacked those backpacks. When we dig them back out in August, all of those school supplies will be right in there waiting for us.
SPEAKER_03A lot of the time, um, teachers also put out like supplies lists. So I think it's really nice when parents and uh guardians can go in and get those lists. So maybe not trying to anticipate, but get exactly what's needed. So just uh using that. And I know that maybe you want to get ahead a little bit, but just make sure it's just the right amount.
SPEAKER_01Lee, I love your idea to wait until teachers send out the the supply list. Um, that way you can reuse what you have and only buy what you need.
SPEAKER_00One final question and a topic for all of us as we always try to make reduce, reuse, and recycle efforts easy. What's
Easy Sustainable Swaps And Closing
SPEAKER_00your best easy recommendation toward a more sustainable summer?
SPEAKER_03For me, it's I'm gonna pick one swap and I'm sticking with it. And that's swapping out my plastic water bottle to a reusable one. It keeps my water nice and cold. Um, and they come in cute, fun, uh, different packagings for it. So I love Good Stanley, uh, but I know those are a little bit out of style now with the kids, so I'm behind the trend.
SPEAKER_01Is that a new water bottle in front of you right now?
SPEAKER_03Uh I've been really good. Actually, this one is not a new water bottle. I have a collection of water bottles ready to go. And my guests come over and I'm handing them a reusable water bottle now. I'm I'm a change person. I'm very we'd love to hear that.
SPEAKER_01Amy, what about you?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so uh I really try to um maintain this mantra that's about progress, not perfection. So I I I kind of I get hard on myself sometimes when I go out and I don't bring my reusable uh straw or my reusable spork, but I'm trying to remind myself that we're all human and we're busy and we're doing the best we can. So the one commitment that I'm making uh this year is I'm really trying to be better about reusable containers, um, keeping them in the trunk of my car, right? With my reusable bags. That I've I've done a really good job on. But the containers, when you go out to eat, yeah, and you want to take the takeaway food, the leftovers, saying no, thank you to their container and instead bringing my own in. I'm I'm I'm I'm making progress on it, Joe. I gotta continue to work on that one.
SPEAKER_00Interesting.
SPEAKER_01I love that. Let us know how that goes. I'll keep you posted. Well, Leah and Amy, thank you both so much for joining us and for sharing your personal summer trips and grilling ideas too. And to our listeners, happy summer, safe travels. And if you'd like to know more about what we do, visit our website anytime at Swaco.org.
SPEAKER_00We 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 next time, this is Waste Dead, a waste and recycling podcast by Swaco.