Elephant ears and ecology

Recycling Today, Oct, 2004

Attendees of the Ohio State Fair in August were offered the opportunity to recycle their bottles, cans and dry paper for the first time in the history of the fair. The recycling program will continue at future fairgrounds events, with visitors having access to 600 Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) recycling containers.

Mike Long, executive director of SWACO, says that many taxpayer dollars will be saved as 80 percent of the paper, plastic, metal and cardboard currently sent to the Franklin County Landfill will be diverted to recycling.

The 600 containers SWACO is using at the fairgrounds are the same ones used as part of a SWACO pilot program with the city of Columbus, helping the agency to cut the program's cost.

SWACO also partnered with the Tri-State Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Columbus. Each bottle of Dasani Water sold at the fairgrounds featured a yellow sticker urging consumers to recycle their bottles in the nearest SWACO recycling container.

SWACO expects that 1,200 tons of recyclables will be collected during a year's worth of events at the fairgrounds.