The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and the City of Columbus are midway through a "grassroots recycling education campaign" that has city contractors walking neighborhoods and peeking inside residents’ blue curbside recycling bins in search of prohibited items, ThisWeek Community News reports.
Local officials hope this eight-week "Feet on the Street" initiative will further lower the area recycling contamination rate, which in turn will increase the amount they can charge on the resale market for locally sourced recycled material.
The program "might seem a little intrusive," Ty Marsh, SWACO’s executive director, wrote in a recent column for ThisWeek, "but it's necessary to help educate residents about the right way to recycle."
Feet on the Street contractors have been walking neighborhoods each week, opening residents’ blue recycling bins and looking for items that cannot be recycled through Columbus’s curbside program. If any so-called "contaminants" are found, the inspectors leave notes detailing the problems.
Tim Swauger, refuse administrator for Columbus, told ThisWeek that coat hangers and plastic bags are among the most common contaminants found in curbside recycling bins.
"People want to recycle correctly," Mr. Swauger said of Feet on the Street, "and the city wants to keep recycling viable and affordable."
Plastic bags should never be put in a Columbus curbside recycling bin – which also means you can’t put recyclables in plastic bags. Plastic bags you no longer need should be taken to businesses that accept them for recycling.
Feet on the Street is only the latest effort by SWACO to improve Franklin County’s recycling habits. Earlier this year SWACO launched RecycleRight.org, a website that makes it easy to sort what can go in the recycling bin from things that belong in a compost pile or trash can.
Not putting plastic bags and other contaminants in curbside bins is important, Mr. Marsh of SWACO wrote, because "more than 98% of the material recycled in central Ohio is used in domestic markets, many of which are in Ohio."
"To help keep these markets strong," Mr. Marsh added, "we need to continue to improve the quality of our recycling."
Curbside recycling in The Glen is provided by Rumpke. You should consult Rumpke for guidelines on what types of items they do and do not accept for recycling. You can also call 1 (800) 828-8171.
An interactive map of SWACO’s drop-box recycling locations is available through RecycleRight.org. The nearest SWACO recycling drop-box to The Glen is located at Columbus Fire Station 30 on Fishinger Boulevard.
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