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Local Recycling Rate At Record Level

WCBE files

Recycling rates in Franklin County have reached an all-time high. 

Mike Foley reports.

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio says the recycling rate in Franklin County has reached 49 percent, up from the county's recent mark of 46.5 percent and well above the national average of 34 percent. SWACO officials earlier this year launched an awareness campaign to remind residents about the types of materials accepted for curbside recycling and at drop off locations. They are emptied and rinsed out plastic bottles and jugs, glass bottles and jars, metal cans, and cartons as well as paper and cardboard. Officials say all other items should be reused, donated or disposed of because they delay and contaminate the recycling process. Despite the record recycling rate, SWACO says most of the material showing up in the county landfill can be recycled, especially paper and pizza boxes. Officials are making a special push for those empty, clean pizza boxes as estimates put the number of pizza sales each year in the U.S. at $3 billion.

Mike Foley joined WCBE in February 2000, coming from WUFT in Gainesville, Florida. Foley has worked in various roles, from producing news and feature stories to engineering Live From Studio A sessions. A series of music features Foley started in 2018 called Music Journeys has grown into a podcast and radio show. He also assists in developing other programs in WCBE's Podcast Experience. Foley hosts The Morning Mix, a weekday music show featuring emerging and established musicians, our Columbus-area and Ohio-based talent, and additional artists that inspire him.
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