Materials Management

MORPC works to reduce, reuse and recycle central Ohio waste streams by working with local communities, businesses, and our Materials Management working group.

Initiatives include

• Conducting a pilot project to determine whether compostable food scraps can be mixed with yard waste for municipal pick-up.
• Working with the Ohio State University's Center for Resilience to develop a By-Products Synergy Network for manufacturers in our region. 
• Working with our local solid waste district to balance a variety interests and goals that benefit central Ohio.

Waste as a Resource

Composting food scraps in backyards is one way to naturally recycle food scraps and reuse them at home in gardens and landscaping to develop fertile plant soil, changing what was a waste into a resource.  However, not everyone is able or willing to backyard compost, so curbside collection of food waste could be a viable option to reduce the county’s landfill waste and reduce methane. 

When food scraps decompose in enclosed landfills, the greenhouse gas methane forms.  During this anaerobic process, some methane is ultimately released into the air.  Composting however, is an aerobic process, creating gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide and steam. 

Average households in Ohio throw away about 474 pounds of food scraps in one year, or the width and length of a football field, stacked as high as Chicago’s Sears Tower (over 1,450 feet).

For more information and to join the working group, please contact Brandi Whetstone at 614-233-4174.