A new recycling program was announced earlier today that targets both residential and business partners in the Downtown area and aims to reduce landfill waste coming out of Downtown by up to 66%. The program was launched as a public-private partnership between the Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District, the City of Columbus, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, SWACO, and 35 Downtown landowners and businesses.
“Capital Crossroads is in the unique position to facilitate partnerships, and our Downtown landowners, tenants, restaurants and residents asked us to help with recycling,” said Cleve Ricksecker, Executive Director. ” Our plan is to help these first 35 participants achieve improved contracts with their haulers, and then share the knowledge, experience and template to all of the 550 downtown landowners.”
Participating Downtown partners include The Exchange Lofts, 280 Plaza, Sixty Spring, Barrio, Bricker & Eckler, The Columbus Athenaeum, The Downtown YMCA, Due Amici, The Fifth Third Center, The Huntington Bank Buildings, The Hyatt on Capitol Square, The LeVeque Tower, The Lofts at 106, The Elevator, Tip Top Kitchen & Cocktails, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, Wall Street Nightclub, and more.
According to the press release issued earlier today, the individual components of the initiative include:
- It gathers detailed solid waste information on 35 properties representing millions of square feet, then turns this information over to one law firm
- Allows the properties to negotiate contracts collectively with the goal of increasing services and providing affordable and cost effective recycling
- Creates more efficient collection routes that reduce emissions and costs
- Provides properties with a flexible menu of services they can choose to use whenever their current contracts expire
- Teaches many property owners how to recycle
- Recommends solutions to various problems
- Promotes “preferred haulers” who will use the best practices to the downtown community so all properties can benefit from this work