I was disappointed by the inaccurate information presented recently by John Rush, candidate for elected office, in regards to the removal of waste following the unfortunate fire at a cold storage facility on Columbus’ West Side.
SWACO was saddened to learn of the fire and the on-going impacts to the neighborhood. As the operator of the County’s landfill, SWACO proactively reached out to the on-site contractor doing the demolition and waste hauling in order to assist with a timely clean-up. At no time did the contractor express concern about access to the landfill or the hours of operation. In fact, an entire week went by without any fire debris delivered to the landfill even though the landfill continued to be open each week day beginning at 5 am and on Saturday.
With nearly a million tons of waste disposed of safely at the landfill each year, our operation is highly engineered and regulated to protect the public’s health and safety. The waste generated by the fire and brought to our facility was highly odorous and required additional efforts to dispose of it and comply with state laws. SWACO achieved this without impeding the clean-up process, limiting access or the amount of waste able to be disposed of at the landfill.
Ty Marsh, Executive Director
Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio
