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
New Food Scrap Options Bring Composting to Downtown Columbus
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Downtown Columbus in the summer is festive, fun and full of options and that’s exactly when waste piles up fastest. Joe and Hanna sit down with Ashley Myers, Director of Columbus Commons, to talk about what it takes to run a park that hosts 250-plus events yearly and still finds ways to make sustainability feel easy instead of preachy. From Picnic with the Pops to big concert nights, we get into how great experiences and smart waste diversion can live side by side.
Plus, we have BIG news! The first downtown Columbus food scrap drop-off program is launching at Columbus Commons with four MetroSTOR smart bins. These compost drop-off units use sensor technology to signal when they’re full, collect data to measure impact, and use app access to keep it all clean. It’s free to use, built for downtown residents and visitors, and designed to make composting in Columbus more accessible than ever.
We also dig into the practical stuff that actually changes behavior: bin placement near food and having staff ready at events to answer the most common question, “Can I put this in here?” Joe and Hanna also share what they learned from last year’s composting pilot at a major show and what SWACO is improving next.
If you care about recycling, composting, food waste reduction, and making public spaces greener without making life harder, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves downtown events, and leave a review so more people can find WastED.
Welcome To Waste Ed
SPEAKER_00Welcome to Waste Dead. A waste and recycling podcast by Swaco.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to our July episode of Waste Ed. We're right in the middle of summer with so much going on in Central Ohio with festivals, farmers markets, parades, and concerts. Today we're focusing on downtown Columbus and several initiatives that keep the summer vibes going while promoting sustainability in Swaco's efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Our guest today is Ashley Myers, Director of Columbus Commons at Downtown Columbus. Ashley, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER_00Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_03It's great to have you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it is certainly great to welcome you to the podcast. Well, Swaco and Columbus Commons have become fast friends over the years, and your team has been such a centerpiece of our city every single day of the year.
What Columbus Commons Does
SPEAKER_00Tell us a little bit about your role and what Columbus Commons does on behalf of the City of Columbus.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I have been a member of the downtown Columbus Inc. team for about 15 years now in different capacities, and then started working as the director of Columbus Commons about eight years ago. And if you aren't familiar with Columbus Commons, it's a park in the heart of downtown, kind of tucked away in between a mixed-use development. And there is events, uh peak season, May through October. We have over 250 events, but there's really something to do, even if there's not an event going on. There's a lot of joy instilled, and that's one of my favorite parts is no two days are the same. I'm sure you both can relate to that. So it keeps us on our toes, and um there's a there's a lot to do and see whether um there's an event happening or you can come for a carousel ride or have a bite to eat.
SPEAKER_00It is such a gem right in the heart of the city. I love the commons. You mentioned about 250 events take place there every year. Do you have any estimates of how many people you welcome?
Concerts That Bring Downtown Alive
SPEAKER_02Yeah, last year we welcomed almost 200,000 people. Um yeah, and and like I said, there's right now we're in the heat of it, literally. Um today's a cooler day, but Nationwide Picnic with the Pops is about to wrap up, and we're so honored to be the summer home of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. It's it's a really special experience that they kind of unveil every summer what they do with those national acts they bring in and those great tributes. I know you have experienced those, Joe.
SPEAKER_03Picnic with the Pops is awesome, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. It's kind of a cornerstone, an anchor. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And I think we were talking before we started that, you know, I remember seeing Led Zeppelin with the Picnic with the Pops. I've seen Pink Floyd. We also saw summer concerts with tributes. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We did not have Pink Floyd here in Columbus at the Columbus Commons. That would be a hard ticket to get, I'm sure. But uh, they're great. And and the bands that do the tribute, I mean, they sound exactly like the band. It's it's wonderful.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and we book um tributes as well as national acts touring as well. Um, you know, we've have every had everyone from Cheryl Crow to the Beach Boys and Boys to Men. And last year we had Nellie. So um, yeah, I've kind of carried that tradition on of free and inclusive programming, and some of those concerts we host are free as well, which is really exciting.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that Cheryl Crow was pretty good. I went to that one. So, Ashley, can you take off your director's hat to say, hey, a picnic with the Pops concert and enjoy the show? I can see where that might be hard to do.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you're spot on. I'm I'm sure you can relate with other experiences you're you're in. Um, but yeah, I I love supporting other venues around town. It's important to me to go to other places and experience what's happening. But uh yeah, I I can't help it. Like, what was the no before you go? Like, were the restrooms clean? What was parking like? Uh, what was the bar situation like? How was security? What was the production like? So I'm a sponge, but I think that's part of why like my job is I'm constantly seeking and finding, and that curiosity doesn't really ever stop. So detriment at times, but really do try and try and take it off and enjoy but also trying to learn as well.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Well, that's great because that sets up my next question. Let's talk about another concert.
Composting Food Waste At Shows
SPEAKER_03Swaco is so proud to sponsor host your common ground series again this year. It's in a few weeks in mid-Oc August with Bruce Hornsby and the noisemakers. Let's talk about our efforts at this show for food waste collection and composting.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'll I'll touch on that with a kind of a mantra we have of kind of good is the enemy of great. And so we're really never resting on our laurels and constantly trying to make the user experience something turned up a notch and elevated and intentional is what we're all about. So Swaco approaching us about this amazing partnership was a really perfect match. Couldn't be more thrilled. And so it's always nice to start small with a pilot, and I feel like that's what we did last year at our Nelly concert to see really how that played out. And then we were able to sit down and say, what next? And so we've we've had some iterations of this, and I'm really excited for the next chapter.
SPEAKER_03And it used to be Bruce Hornsby in the range for us, seasoned individuals. We've got a music buff. Yeah, yeah. Not that much, but it used to be called Bruce Hornsby in the Range, if I recall.
SPEAKER_00Well, Joe, I think we've got to pause here and really give you kudos because you really helped connect the team here at Swaco with the Commons last year when we lot launched this partnership at the Nelly concert. Um, I know we had great participation with what we did there last year. And um, but we as always we we learned some things. So, Ashley, tell us a little bit about what what kind of changes we're making this year and what we hope to do a little differently.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I think part of the goal really was to make sustainability easy and accessible for people coming to these special events. And so we started with that last year, and I think what we learned was people are willing to throw away their food scraps in the appropriate way if it's really easy. And so working with your amazing team, just trying to concentrate some of those receptacles a lot more closer to the food, to the areas where you're eating and then disposing of the food. So being a little more intentional with where all those food waste drop-off areas are at the concerts themselves.
SPEAKER_00Gosh, we hear that all the time, not just with food waste collection, but with recycling. It has to be easy to do and it has to be convenient. So I'm not surprised at some of the feedback we got last year.
SPEAKER_03And I really think some of the questions was were more like, can I put this in here? And luckily we had staff there that were policing it to help. So that was really great to have them there to help the, you know, the the folks that were there trying to do the right thing, but just weren't sure.
SPEAKER_02So for sure. Yep. It always helps to ask the question and get the answer you're looking for. So thanks to your staff for showing that education on site.
SPEAKER_03Well, we've got some really big news, involves a consistent effort at the Columbus Commons to divert more food waste.
Launching Downtown Food Scrap Drop Off
SPEAKER_03We're launching the first downtown food scrap drop-off program. Ashley, why did the Columbus Commons want to be part of that with us?
SPEAKER_02Oh gosh, how how could we not? I I think the synergy was right. I I really believe in amplifying the backyard nature of Columbus Commons and offering amenities for downtown residents to access at this space allows us to step in and fill gaps. You know, I fill gaps. I think you can look at it on one lens and think it's a park space, but we're also really trying to make sure that all of our downtown residents have the amenities that they need. And what better place to say, hey, come. There's this really cool new free program where you don't have to pay to compost your food.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_02And it's right here next door in a safe space. I think that is really special.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and those will be permanent um fixtures, and we'll get to that. Uh, and I know what will be accepted are fruits, vegetables, pasta, baked goods, coffee grounds, eggs, egg shells, cooked and raw meat, bones, seafood, just about anything that you can think about and food waste will be able to be put into those bins. And we'll talk a little bit about those bins here.
Smart MetroSTOR Bins And App Access
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so we're really excited to be bringing these uh new to Columbus bins. They're called Metro Store. Uh, first time they're being used here in Central Ohio, but they're being used successfully all over the country. I know um I read about them in use in Berkeley and San Francisco, California. Downtown Tulsa has them. Even New York City has some of these Metro Stores. And what makes them really unique is that they use smart technology, such as sensors, which will help monitor when the full uh the bins are full and need service. They'll also collect a little bit of data for us so we know just how much material we're getting at these sites downtown. And then um something that's really kind of cool and different from all of our other food waste drop-off sites is that these require an app to be downloaded in order to control contamination and just make sure the right stuff is being tossed into the bins. So um that's really cool and innovative, something totally different. And Ashley, we really appreciate the Commons partnering with that, with us on that. Um, it sounds like there's gonna be four bins at the Commons. Yes. And we're looking at late August, I think, for the installation of those.
SPEAKER_02Part of why it works in our space is it's a space we control and and also have a lot of eyes on, right? So our our kind of execution of something new means there's a lot of care. We have a full-time team of caretakers making sure that it's clean and welcoming, and so they're not going to be an afterthought, which I think is falls in line with kind of our ethos of what we do there and just seems like a really perfect fit.
SPEAKER_00Well, and I want to echo something that you said at the start of this conversation that these four new containers, um, when they're available in late August, are completely free to use. So there's uh it's really easy to download the QR code, you know, use the QR code to download the app, but it's totally free. Once you set up your account, uh, you can use these uh units whenever you want as a downtown resident or just as a visitor to our downtown.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and I know a lot of communities offer free composting, but a lot don't. And so we're really looking at downtown Columbus as its own neighborhood. And this is a perk, if you ask me. So kudos to Swaco.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and that brings us to like 35 locations now, once we've got those installed downtown, but it is the first in downtown. So, Ashley, thank you for being on the forefront of uh what could be even bigger in the downtown area because listen, once other venues see what Columbus Commons is doing, they're gonna jump on board, they're gonna want to call Swaco, they're gonna want to know how we can do this, and that's something that you know we hope uh is successful at the Commons, but we also hope other venues begin to look at that as a permanent solution.
SPEAKER_00I know. Ashley, when I talk to people throughout the city of Columbus, everyone just raves about the Columbus Commons. So um, if you can shed a little light on where we're headed, where do you see the Commons in five years from now?
Building A Welcoming Downtown Backyard
SPEAKER_02I think we've built a really great groundwork over the last 15 years to establish a brand, a trusted space where people feel welcome. Um, you know, that that is really the core message is that it's more than a park. It's a place where everybody can come, feel alive, and feel that community. Um I have a really fond memory of of how that happens, where you know, we set up these really basic open play blue blocks uh called the imagination playground. Um, fun fact, we're over the underground parking garage deck, and so there is less than 10 inches of soil. So people say, why no shade? Well, we can't plant trees there, right? And so our our gear has to be flex. And so the the open play gear for the kids is set out. Um I'll take my kids out there and play, and every single time they're meeting a new friend. And then by by inherently the kids meeting a new friend, I'm meeting a new community neighbor that I've never met before. And it happens every single time, guaranteed. And so I know that if that is my story, I know that that's happening elsewhere. And so I think the feeling of feeling welcome and hmm, what am I gonna do today? Maybe there's something going on, and we can really expand upon that. And all of these assets, as you know, the downtown strategic plan calls for a goal of 40,000 residents by 2040. The more that we can create some of these amenities in a space that already feels comfortable, I think it just will be a win and a home run for the downtown residents. So I hope we can continue to offer that space as a true backyard and something that feels less of a passerby than, hmm, I feel welcome here because I live here or I'm visiting here. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Do you ever like, you like throughout the day, you want to just relieve some stress? Do you take a walk around the commons? And do you go to your inner eight-year-old Ashley and get on the merry-go-round?
SPEAKER_02Um, so I suddenly get dizzy in my later life. I don't know what happened post-kids, but um, yeah, I I leave that to my husband to take the many rides. It's free uh every single day. And so then the kids want to ride about 20 times. Right, right. Which is great, but uh yeah, I have to bow out at a certain point. But lots of walks. Yeah, I love seeing how people are using the space and observing.
SPEAKER_00So great.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think we're hitting on
Food Trucks Lunch Crowds And Daytime Use
SPEAKER_00an important point. The the Commons isn't just a great destination for nights and weekends, it's available during the workday if you want to meet up for lunch. I think a lot of times there are food trucks there. We can grab a business lunch, or it's summertime. And so if there are parents looking for things to do with their kids, bring them downtown. Check out the commons during the day.
SPEAKER_02Our offices are nearby in the historic Lazarus building. And every Thursday we do an event that actually pays homage to the food court left behind in City Center Law. So it's called Food Truck Food Court. And uh my boss Amy um kind of coined that back in the day, and it's just stuck, it's landed so well. And 10 food trucks roll in. And I will tell you, if I don't get out there, I have FOMO. And it's yeah, my I understand what's happening, and I still get really sad if I can't go out there because there's live music, there's this community experience of all of these office workers flocking and coming together for a simple lunch. But it's it's took taken that long to just build a really easy brand and that's predictable and comfortable. So I hope we can continue to expand upon that.
SPEAKER_00What a cool concept! And it reminds me um City Center Mall had one of my most favorite restaurants. I don't know if you guys will remember it, but the big easy where you got the bourbon chicken. Um, it was something really only my 20-year-old self could eat because it was like noodles on top of mashed potatoes with gravy. But uh yeah, that's so cool that though you you pay that homage every uh week to the to the old City Center. So yeah. Very cool.
SPEAKER_03As we start to wrap up, when other cities and towns visit Columbus and see this unique
How Columbus Commons Stays Sustainable
SPEAKER_03and terrific venue, what do they say?
SPEAKER_02Good question. I a lot of the feedback I hear from peers is the curiosity about how to sustain a civic asset like Columbus Commons. I think, you know, it's one thing to create something and bring it to fruition, but it's even harder to have it succeed for 15 years. And so I mentioned that dedicated team, you know, we have the team there that's caring for the space every single day and infusing that passion and uh just uh I think general overall care. And so that that is one thing they're noticing when they visit. I think the other thing is that a real true perk to what we do is that when the former City Cinema Center Mall was transitioned to Columbus Commons, the parking underground and across the street was retained.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that is our revenue source. So, you know, we were able to thrive today because of that. And so that was a true intentional decision by those leaders at that time. And that's really rare.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, and I think for our listeners, you know, some people don't remember that the city center sat there. It's been, you know, the Columbus Commons has been around for such a long time, and it's really a jewel in our downtown that people forget that we actually had a pretty cool mall down there for a long time. I think it was ahead of its time, but but it was a pretty cool mall downtown.
Where To Learn More And Connect
SPEAKER_00Absolutely. So, for listeners who are interested in visiting the Commons, where can they go to get information about upcoming events or even parking information?
SPEAKER_02ColumbusCommons.org has all that information and we'll have a dedicated page for the food waste collection sites where and then we'll be reaching out to downtown residents and neighbors to make sure they're aware of all of that information. Um yeah, tons of events happening even this weekend, so no shortage of fun.
SPEAKER_03Well, and if we can ever ask you to get any of your guest uh performers to come on waste dead, we we would love to have them on. I mean, it would be great. Yeah, so you know, if you've got an extra hour in your day, you know, you know, not rehearsing, you can come on Ways Dead and we can talk sustainability in your band at the same time. So uh that's great.
SPEAKER_00Well, Ashley, thank you so much for not only your partnership, but your service to our community and uh for working with us here at Swaco. And to our listeners, if you'd like to know more, visit our website anytime at Swaco.org or Ashley give us your web address one more time. ColumbusCommons.org. Thank you. We also want to hear from you if you're listening. If you have ideas for future podcast episodes, connect with us on any of our social media channels or drop us an email at infoswaco.org. Until the next time, this is Waste Ed, a waste and recycling podcast by Swaco.
SPEAKER_03Thank you, Ashley.
SPEAKER_00Thank you.