recycling

Recycle Your Political Yard Signs After the Election

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This time of year, political yard signs of all types sprout up like daisies in yards and public rights of way throughout central Ohio.  These metal, plastic, and paper signs are a vital way for voters to express themselves and to encourage their neighbors to vote, but once the election is over, they become clutter in our garages and litter on the roadside.

Fortunately, though, there are several convenient, easy, and free ways to recycle those signs so that they can continue to be useful and don’t end up in our community’s landfill.  SWACO is holding its yearly Election Sign Recycling Event on the Saturday after the election, and there are also two other locations this year where you can drop off yard signs for recycling.

  • SWACO Recycling Convenience Center Drop-Off: Throughout the month of November, yard signs and their metal stakes can be dropped off at the SWACO Recycling Convenience Center at 2566 Jackson Pike in Columbus between 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
  • Board of Elections Drop-Off: Yard signs can be dropped off November 5th through December 1st at the east end of the parking lot near the Franklin County Board of Elections building at 1700 Morse Rd. in Columbus.
  • One Day Mobile Collection Event: On November 9th from 8 a.m. to noon, there will be an election sign collection event held in the parking lot at the Bill McDonald Athletic Complex located at 4990 Olentangy River Rd. in Columbus.

If you are unable to attend the mobile collection event or visit one of the mentioned locations, paper signs can be placed in your home’s curbside recycling container and the stretchy plastic signs can be recycled at retail locations accepting film plastics. Please don’t put coroplast signs or metal stands in curbside or drop off containers.

All of the yard sign drop-off and collection options are free and open to the public.

Swaco.org

National Recycling Day Art Show

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America Recycles Day is Nov 15

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is proud to present the annual National Recycling Day Art Show, exhibiting art from Ohioans that combines creativity with sustainability. Showcasing art crafted primarily with repurposed materials, this exhibition shows the innovative ways that people can find new life in materials and objects that are often simply thrown away.

The art show is in honor of America Recycles Day on November 15, recognizing the importance and impact of recycling, which continues to contribute to American prosperity and the protection of our environment.

  1. Reduce: Reduce the amount of waste generated.
  2. Reuse: Reuse products and parts.
  3. Recycling: Use recycled resources.

Using these approaches is essential in reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and incinerators, conserving natural resources, and saving energy.  The pieces in this exhibition demonstrate just a few of the many ways in which Ohioans can achieve this, challenging the typical idea of recycling and inspiring attendees to think outside the box when it comes to environmental stewardship. The two-week exhibition is being held Nov 4 – 15 in downtown Columbus in the Urban Arts Space corridor and is open to the public.

Visit Urban Arts Space

Add to Calendar

Visit Ohio EPA

Plastic Free Every Day

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Plastic Free July is ending, but habits to remove and reduce use of plastic can continue year-round. 

Plastic is literally everywhere, and it can be overwhelming deciding where to start. PlasticFreeJuly.org has great resources on getting started; plastic free at work;  at events; and more!

A recent article from Sierra Club discusses your plastic-free kitchen and provides tips such as utilizing glass jars; reusable produce bags; alternatives to plastic wrap; and thinking twice about what and where you buy.  “Until we have regulatory policies that ensure all chemicals are safe, we will still have toxic chemicals in our homes. Focus on a few things here that will improve your life and reduce your exposure. Don’t try to seek perfection, says Schreder, which is ‘too much on us on the individual, instead of holding the industry and government accountable enough.'”

LiveHealthyOSU.com also recently posted an article, Pass on Pesky Plastics, with information and simple ideas.

Buy whole produce –  Instead of buying half a vegetable such as a cabbage, or pumpkin wrapped in plastic, many people are choosing the whole thing.  By planning meals ahead and making a double batches of meals such as pumpkin soup it’s easily to find ways to use it all and freeze a meal as well.

Avoid plastic cleaning products – Choose plastic free cleaning products and homemade alternatives.

Swap bottled soaps with bars – Swapping out liquid soap in plastic bottles to bar soap is a popular way to reduce plastic waste. Bar soaps can be found without packaging in bulk food, health, and organic stores. Supermarkets also offer bar soaps wrapped in paper packaging, providing eco-friendly options almost everywhere.

***Did you know that you can host a Zero Waste Event with OSU? Learn more and order your Zero Waste Event Kit here!

How to Dispose of Household Hazardous Waste

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The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) drop-off facility for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) located at 645 E. 8th Ave. in Columbus is expanding its hours, and will now be open Monday through Friday and on the first Saturday of every month.

New HHW Drop Off Hours

  • Monday through Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • The first Saturday of every month: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Accepted Items

  • Household cleaners and bleach
  • Paint strippers
  • Batteries
  • Gasoline
  • Fluorescent bulbs
  • Motor oil
  • Pool and lawn chemicals
  • Propane and other types of cylinders, and more

The facility currently does not accept ammunition, appliances, asbestos, tires, or medical waste, and is only available to residents, not businesses.

 The site also accepts latex or water-based paint for $1 per gallon, or these paints can be dried out and disposed of in regular household trash for free.

Visit SWACO’s Household Hazardous Waste webpage for a list of accepted items at the free HHW collection site, information about upcoming mobile HHW collection events, and how businesses can dispose of their hazardous waste.

 You can also learn how to properly recycle many common items at RecycleRight.org.

*** For information on hazardous waste disposal at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, visit My Tools and select Material Disposal Guidelines

Donate Plastics and Make a Bench!

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Throughout June, Chadwick Arboretum is partnering with the Green Team Employee Resource Group at OSU to create a locally-made bench from recycled plastics! This bench will be placed at Earth Day Park near the Medical Center Campus.

If you would like to contribute to the construction of the bench, sort through your plastic pots, trays, and other hard-to-recycle items to find ONLY #6 plastics; clean them, and drop them off ANYTIME to the barn compound behind the 4-H Center.

*Note: There will be a horticulture plastics recycling event in July, so save your other pots for later!

What: #6 Plastic Recycling Drop Off

When: June 1-30, 2024, anytime

Where: Chadwick Arboretum Hoop House

2201 Fred Taylor Drive (behind the 4-H center)

*signage should be posted at this location soon to help direct you to the gaylord boxes where the plastic can be donated.

Recycle Right with SWACO

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April is Earth Month, and to help you celebrate Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) curated an impressive lineup of educational webinars and home recycling tips to help you go green and stay green all year long.

Don’t Waste This Earth Day – Commit to Recycling More! April 22nd at 12:30 p.m.  Webinar.

Take the guess out of recycling and start recycling with confidence! SWACO is here to provide you with answers. Whether it’s about hard-to-recycle items such as appliances or Styrofoam, we’ll help you determine the best method for reusing or recycling. Register!

Recycle Right at Home with these Tips

  • Packaging is Key – Purchase products with minimal or recyclable packaging to reduce the amount of material sent to the landfill.  
  • How Clean Should They Be? Don’t obsess over how clean your recyclables are. The main goal is to make sure they’re empty and give them a quick rinse if needed.
  • Go Paperless – Opt for an e-receipt when at the store and consider digital subscriptions for your favorite magazines.  
  • Size Matters – Items such as bottle and jug caps and metal can tabs are too small to be recycled alone. Either leave them on bottles and cans and recycle them together or discard individual caps and tabs in the trash.  
  • Recycle Solar Eclipse Glasses – Drop off your gently used eclipse glasses at one of these participating locations and help make the future brighter and safer for young stargazers.   

https://recycleright.org/

Recycle Your Used Eclipse Glasses

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The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) and partners including the city of Columbus, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium are partnering to collect these used but undamaged eclipse glasses for reuse. Through a partnership with Solar Eclipse USA the glasses collected from central Ohio will be sent to schools in Latin America and distributed to school-aged children so they can view the October 2024 Annular Eclipse. You can make a difference.

Drop off your gently used solar eclipse glasses at one of the following locations before April 30, 2024 and help make the future brighter and safer for young stargazers. Collection locations include:

SWACO Recycling Convenience Center, 2566 Jackson Pike, Columbus
Columbus Waste & Reuse Center, 2100 Alum Creek, Columbus
Participating Columbus & Franklin County Metro Parks at: 

  • Battelle Darby Creek, 1775 Darby Creek Drive, Galloway
  • Blacklick Woods, 6975 E. Livingston Avenue, Reynoldsburg
  • Blendon Woods, 4265 E. Dublin Granville Road, Columbus
  • Glacier Ridge, 9801 Hyland-Cory, Plain City
  • Highbanks, 9466 Columbus Pike, Lewis Center
  • Homestead, 4675 Cosgray Rd., Hilliard
  • Prairie Oaks, 3225 NW Plain City – Georgesville Rd., West Jefferson
  • Sharon Woods, 6911 Cleveland Ave., Westerville

 Together, we can make a difference for central Ohio’s environment and the lives of children around the world.

Spread the word!!

SWACO.org

Donate # 6 Plastics Today!

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We have broken ground in Earth Day Park! This park is located on the medical campus on 8th Ave (near Michigan Ave) behind 9th Ave East Garage and next to 9th Ave Garage West.

The Green Team Employee Resource Group (ERG) has been working to develop this plot of land for over 2 years to create a peaceful oasis for the both the Ohio State community and the neighborhood that we border. In May 2023, the Green Team ERG celebrated a ribbon cutting ceremony with the promise to plant at least 1 native pollinator garden in the space.

In addition to multiple pollinator gardens, the park will have an ADA accessible sidewalk, a sensory garden and 2 benches.

The benches will be made by local company Marble Plastics using 100% recycled plastic! That’s where YOU come in!

The benches need #6 plastic (no styrofoam). These are RIGID plastics as seen in the picture. Items made from rigid plastic #6 include disposable plastic cups, lids for paper coffee cups, CD and DVD cases, clothes hangers and plastic utensils.

Drop off any #6 plastics at any Green Team Earth Day event happening this month.

Don’t be a Fool! Join the Green Team for the EcoChallenge

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This is no April Fool’s joke! In celebration of Earth Day April 22nd, the Green Team ERG will be hosting a variety events all month including webinars, plant giveaways, and a cooking demo.

 Find the list of events here

To kick off the month, we invite you to participate in the events below!

Fill out the Green Team survey and be entered to win a prize!

April 1-30: Join the medical center team on the One Healthcare EcoChallenge. We have been invited by Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic and Peace Health to participate in a new EcoChallenge designed just for health care employees – the One Healthcare EcoChallenge. During this month-long challenge during April, health care organizations will come together to support our caregivers in taking actions that promote individual, community and environmental health. By signing up for this free challenge, you can select which actions you want to take during the challenge in the following categories: at work, at home, in our communities, health & well-being and for one health care. You can sign up for up to 6 actions, or just do 1!

Yard Waste Tips for Spring

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Spring Cleaning means sprucing up those yards for the warmer months. Fortunately, the Green Team ERG is here to help provide tips and resources on Yard Waste.

1. Curbside Pick-up

Most Columbus addresses have yard waste curbside pickup. This is probably the most convenient form of disposal. Use the Collection Day Lookup to see if and when your address is eligible for curbside yard waste pickup.

The City of Columbus also provides information on yard waste collection such as what is accepted, what is not accepted and how to prepare your yard waste for collection.

Be sure to avoid plastic bags, food waste, rocks and dirt.

2. Yard Waste Drop-Off

Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) subsidizes the cost for Franklin County residents to be able to drop off their yard waste materials for FREE at processors who turn yard waste materials into compost and mulch. Visit swaco.org/yardwaste for a list of those drop-off locations as well as a list of the materials accepted and hours of operations.

3. Food Waste and Compost

Only stems, roots and leaves can be collected for the above mentioned collections, so what to do if you have food waste such as fallen fruit? The most sustainable solution is to compost. Compost bins can also include many particles that are also seen in yard waste such as leaves, grass clippings, and sticks.

Want to learn more or become more active in Sustainability? Check out OSUMC’s Green Team ERG.

Or sign up to be a member!