sustainability

Sustainability at the ‘Shoe

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OSU Sustainability Specialist talks on SWACO podcast

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO)’s WastEd podcast featured The Ohio State University’s Environmental Sustainability Specialist (and Green Team ERG Advisor) Cecil Okotah, to discuss how the university practices environmental stewardship at the Horseshoe.

 The Zero Waste initiative started in 2011 and has grown exponentially since then. Game days are filled with prominently displayed zero-waste stations and recyclable or compostable food ware. A new edition was installed in 2024 to further implement recognizable zero-waste bins in the club spaces. This campaign aims to divert 90% of the waste created during game day from the landfill.

Thank you, Cecil for everything you do to promote sustainability at OSU!

 Click HERE to listen to the full podcast episode! 

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Looking for more sustainable tips during football season? Check out these tips from SWACO:

Free Curbside Composting Pilot

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The Compost Exchange in Columbus will be launching a FREE pilot program for the Clintonville, Olde Towne East, Westrville, Powell, and Delaware Neighborhoods. The program includes free four week curbside pickup for composting material!

This program will run from Sept 22 through the week of Oct 27.

Service includes:

  • Weekly pickup at your service address.
  • One (1) 5-gallon container with airtight lid.
  • Fresh compostable liners provided each week.
  • Free compost for your garden each year.

Pilot details:

  • This is a free trial program starting on September 23rd, 2025 and lasting for four (4) weeks.
  • You will automatically be billed after the pilot ends on October 28th at the rate of $23/month.
  • You can cancel anytime during the pilot, and we will collect your bucket on the next service day.

The Compost Exchange will continue it’s program for drop-off through this pilot if you are not in one of these neighborhoods.

Sign up before Sept 21 for the Fall Pilot Programs in your neighborhood.

Participate in Plastic Free July with The Green Team!

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Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.

This global initiative asks you to take the pledge for a plastic free July.

To help you get started on the journey, The Green Team is doing a Plastic Free July Bingo!

The Bingo sheet below has ideas on how to work toward less plastic in your day to day. Remember that small changes make big differences!

At the end of July send in your Bingo Sheets with what you tried to Elizabeth.Strausbaugh@osumc.edu for a chance to win a prize from the Green Team Leadership! Feel free to share your stories and journey as well.

Download the Bingo Sheet here: plastic-free-july-with-the-green-team-erg

Also check some tips at our Resources Page or on Plastic Free July.org

Sustainability on Display at Art Gallery

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Minding & Mending Our Ways: Moving Towards an Intentional Future is the second iteration of the Ohio State Marion Sustainability Stories exhibition.

Minding and Mending Our Ways features local student research, class projects, and campus and community programs that explore issues of sustainability in Marion and beyond. From designing wellness walks to eradicating invasive species to conducting research into adopting greener consumer practices and manufacturing processes, you’ll see examples of innovative research and experiential learning projects about our natural resources from courses in various disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, geography, and engineering. Also featured are programs that involve sharing houseplants or lending and mending clothing items, citizen agriculture projects that grow fruits and vegetables to share with the community, a successful local farm-to-table business, and volunteers helping to restore the native honeybee population.

This year’s exhibition features Conversations with Trees, an interactive display featuring work created by students in Peter Chan’s Visual Communication Design course, as well as a virtual reality demonstration, that celebrates the historic trees that stand in and around the historic Ohio State Oval. Learn More.

Sustainability Stories – Minding & Mending Our Ways:  Moving Towards an Intentional Future

​Exhibition dates:  Friday, April 4, 2025 through September 2025
Exhibition hours:  Monday – Friday 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.

​The gallery is located off the main lobby at the east entrance of Morrill Hall located at 1465 Mount Vernon Avenue, Marion, Ohio 43302. The gallery is free and open to the public.

Student Sustainable Fashion Show!

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Join us in an exciting upcoming event, the Student Sustainable Fashion Show—a collaboration between the ACC and Students for Sustainable Fashion. This year’s show is going to be out of this world (literally—its celestial themed!) and we’d love for you to join us.

Here are the event details:

Date: Friday, February 28

Time: Doors Open at 5:00 PM | Show Starts at 6:00 PM | Ends at 7:30 PM

Location: Wexner Center for the Arts, Black Box Theatre

Tickets: Purchase here. (limited number of early bird student tickets available)

This event is 100% student-run, and we can’t wait to showcase some incredible sustainable fashion creations. We’re all about making fashion more eco-friendly and we’d love to have you join us.

City of Columbus Opens Four More Food Waste Drop-Off Sites for Residents’ Use

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The City of Columbus has opened four more community locations where residents can take food scraps for composting.

The Division of Refuse Collection services offer residents convenient, sustainable disposal options to divert these materials from the Franklin County landfill. The four new food scraps drop-off sites feature marked collection containers in outdoor enclosures at these Recreation and Parks locations:

  • Beatty Park and Community Center – 247 N. Ohio Ave., 43203
  • Northeast Park and Howard Community Center – 2505 Cassady Ave., 43219
  • Linden Park and Community Center – 1350 Briarwood Ave., 43211
  • Carriage Place Community Center – 4900 Sawmill Rd., 43235

“We are excited to expand accessible drop-off services in more neighborhoods throughout Columbus as residents look for options to sustainably dispose of food waste and divert it from the landfill,” said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “Expansion of residential services marks our commitment to meeting the city’s Climate Action Plan goals to reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions for a healthy, clean Columbus.”

The new drop-off sites build on the success of three food scraps locations launched in 2023 by Refuse Collection. Since then, residents’ usage at the Bill McDonald Athletic Complex, Dodge Park and Community Center, and Scioto Southland Park has diverted more than 100,000 pounds of food waste from the landfill.

Residents may also bring food scraps to Refuse Collection’s two drive-through Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers, at 2100 Alum Creek Dr., and the newly opened location at 1550 Georgesville Rd.

Visit columbus.gov/foodwaste to learn what food scraps items are accepted for drop-off.

*****To reduce contamination, pumpkins should not be dropped off at the city’s food waste sites.

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

Compost Your Pumpkin This Fall!

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Don’t let your pumpkins haunt the landfill after spooky season is over! Green your Halloween and return nutrients to the soil by composting them!

Now through Tuesday, December 3, faculty, staff, and students living off-campus can drop off pumpkins and gourds in the labeled dumpster in the Uniprint parking lot located at 2500 Kenny Road. The site is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Please place only pumpkins and gourds in the roll-off dumpster. All other compostable food scraps should be deposited in the green compost carts located nearby.

Students living on campus may drop off pumpkins or gourds in the compost containers located at their residence hall.

Whole pumpkins are accepted. If carved, please remove any candles or lights from inside of the jack-o’-lantern. Avoid dropping off pumpkins that have paint or permanent marker on them.

If you have any questions, email recycle@osu.edu.

NOTE: Do not place plastic or any other non-food items in the bins, as this will contaminate the compost and cause the entire load to go to the landfill.

West Fest Sustainability Festival is Back

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Join Ohio State University and community partners as we celebrate Science and Sustainability! This family-friendly event will be held on the West Campus Quad (near Lane Ave. and Kenny Rd.) and will feature STEM activity booths, behind the scenes tours, food trucks, prizes and more!

The event will take place 11:00 AM  – 3:00 PM with a guest appearance from Brutus from noon – 1 PM.

Be sure to stop by the Green Team ERG booth and say hi!

 

For more information on WestFest click here.

Fall Sustainability Social

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Join us for Informal discussion and connection over light refreshments and appetizers!

Sustainability Institute is hosting a Fall Sustainability Social on October 4! Faculty, staff and students who are passionate about sustainability are encouraged to join!

Date: October 4, 2024

When: 4 pm – 6 pm

Where: Blackburn Victory Room (136 W. Woodruff Avenue)

Register Now!