SWACO awards grants to central Ohio organizations

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) has awarded more than $155,000 to six central Ohio organizations as part of the 2024 Community Waste Reduction (CWR) Grant.

Since 2016, the Grove City, Ohio-based waste agency has awarded more than a million dollars through its CWR Grant program to assist local public-sector and nonprofit organizations with projects that it says address unique waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting needs.

The grants awards projects that support SWACO’s mission to reduce reliance on the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill. Franklin County’s diversion rate stands at 54 percent, SWACO reports, an all-time high for the Solid Waste District.

The list of 2024 grant recipients and their projects includes:

• A $35,000 grant to the City of Dublin to expand recycling to a sports park
• A $35,000 grant to the City of Gahanna to improve recycling in the Creekside Outdoor Refreshment Area
• A $35,000 grant to the City of Westerville to purchase and install a foam collection and processing system for Expanded Polystyrene (EPS)
• A $5,362 grant to ECDI to implement a one-year food waste composting pilot at the Food Fort
• A $17,379 grant to Ohio Dominican University to implement a campus-wide recycling program
• A $28,000 grant to Hilliard City School District to create a comprehensive waste reduction roadmap for the 24 schools and administrative complex and to help with the reinstatement and expansion of waste reduction activities such as recycling and composting.

“If we want to continue to build a community that is both sustainable and prosperous, we must continue to work together to support one another’s efforts,” SWACO Executive Director Joe Lombardi says. “SWACO is pleased to be able to support these transformational waste reduction programs and applauds the efforts of each of these recipient organizations.”