Recycling Advice

Basement Surprises….What's Lurking in that Crawl Space? You know how it goes, a potential client's home is the "real cream puff", that shows "like a model" and of course  "Mister Clean lives" there.  Until you go down those basement steps, and discover every old can of paint and varnish know to human kind.  The owner suggests, "Oh, I'll just through it out with the trash," but you know that's not the right thing to do.  So where do you turn? We hope that you will turn to the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio.  "SWACO" offers a whole host of recycling advice that can help buyers and sellers get rid of a lot of headaches. Let's take that old paint and varnish.  That falls under the heading of Household Hazardous Waste.  Right now, SWACO offers over 20-HHW collection days each year, in Central Ohio communities.  We are also working with the Columbus Board of REALTORS® to establish a full time year round collection facility.  Our H-H-W collections in 2002 took in over 642,000 pounds of old car batteries, leftover paint, anti-freeze, pesticides, and more, all of which was properly disposed of, or recycled.

For more information, visit www.swaco.org

Over 70% of what is collected is re-used or recycled.  When it comes to latex paints, new uses include life as latex caulking, distilled water and fuel oil.  SWACO continues to search for new ideas, to further reduce what must be landfilled.

Returning to the home front, there is the back yard, and all those tree branches, leaves, and leftovers from last summer's garden.  Ideally, SWACO would like to see all that material composted, in a corner of the backyard (and we'll be glad to teach your clients how to build a compost pile).   But depending upon the local community, you can place the yard waste at the curbside.  It will be collected, and then it is taken to one of several SWACO contracted composting sites.  There, the sticks, leaves and etc, are ground up, and eventually mixed with other organic materials.  Its new life eventually becomes the mulch that the new homeowner will buy at the corner gas station.

Okay, so you've sold the house, and the new family moving in wants to know about recycling.  They come from a community on the other side of the country that really picks up.  We hope again, that you'll lead them to SWACO.

Through the SWACO Smart Communities program, many towns and villages in Greater Columbus are stepping forward environmentally.  In New Albany, there is curbside service for trash, recyclables, and yard waste.  Bexley, working in conjunction with its trash hauler has expanded its offerings to residents as well.  In the city of Columbus, residents have a choice.  They can contract with a private hauler for the curbside pick-up of their recyclables, or they can make use of a number of drop-off bins at various groceries, fire stations and libraries.

Many towns have laid the groundwork when it comes to thinking green.  But budget restraints and other problems sometimes slow the follow-through with residents.  "Smart Communities" is a program that not only helps communities get the job done when it comes to recycling, but it also helps boost community pride.    SWACO gives these communities the public relations push to sell the idea to residents.  When home shoppers see a community that cares enough to keep itself clean, they see a progressive town, a desirable one in which to locate. 

More "inside help" from SWACO comes in the form of such events as our recent computer recycling drive.  At two locations shortly after the holidays, SWACO collected 60 tons of unneeded computer equipment.  The keyboards, old monitors and CPU's will either be rehabbed, or if its too out-of-date, the equipment will be dismantled, and all parts recycled. 

At SWACO we believe today's throw-a-ways are tomorrow's solutions.   So when you find that problem lurking in the basement, come knock on our door.  The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio has the answers, or we will find them in a hurry, for you, your clients, and the community.