Pleasant Township is one of the newest communities to participate in SWACO’s Recycling Cart Initiative, which makes 65-gallon recycling carts available at a discounted rate to communities that don’t already own carts. Residents will receive their new carts this month.
“SWACO is on a mission to increase recycling in Franklin County,” said Ty Marsh, SWACO’s executive director. “Utilizing the larger, wheeled carts has proven effective at increasing a community’s rate of recycling. We are proud to support this effort by Pleasant Township to improve residential recycling.”
The wheeled recycling carts provide many advantages over the smaller, outdated recycling bins. Besides the fact that they’re much easier to take to the curb, they also increase recycling volume, allow for automated collection to improve safety and efficiency, and reduce the potential for blowing litter.
“Recycling not only makes good sense from an environmental perspective, but it also leads to reduced costs for our residents,” said Nancy Hunter, Pleasant Township trustee. “Our partnership with SWACO and The Recycling Partnership program is an example of how our community is dedicated to using innovative methods to create a standardized recycling process that will ultimately reduce collection costs long-term for Pleasant Township.”
The larger carts typically cost about $45 each, but these communities will pay about $5 per cart, thanks to funding provided by SWACO and a grant from The Recycling Partnership, a national non-profit organization that connects communities with private dollars to improve and expand recycling.
In addition to purchasing new carts, SWACO will use funds from the grant to provide recycling educational materials as part of SWACO’s ongoing Recycle Right, Make a Difference program. These educational materials will include guidelines for what can and cannot be recycled in Franklin County to ensure residents are using the new carts to recycle effectively and efficiently.
“The Recycling Partnership, with support in part from the American Beverage Association and the Ohio Beverage Association, is proud to support the distribution of carts in Pleasant Township,” said Jill Martin, director of community programs for The Recycling Partnership. “Working with SWACO always proves fruitful, and we are excited to continue the partnership to increase the amount of quality recyclables collected in the central Ohio region.”
As part of the Recycling Cart Initiative, SWACO will help any Franklin County community that doesn’t currently own recycling containers, and that wants to introduce or upgrade to wheeled carts, to purchase them for a reduced price.
