Fall 2020 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Zeroing in on zero waste
One evening in May 2019, the normally quiet Athens City Council chambers were overflowing with citizens. Some stood in the hallway while others packed a nearby bar to watch the proceedings on the government channel. What brought so many passionate community members out on a Tuesday night? The answer, in a word: trash. Or to put a finer point on it鈥攚aste, waste diversion, and related jobs.
Mary Reed, BSJ 鈥90, MA 鈥93 | September 19, 2020
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Public outcry reinforced the city鈥檚 decision to extend a trash and recycling collection contract to Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, which had hauled away county residents鈥 recycling since the 1980s. The city was considering another vendor, but the citizens weren鈥檛 having it.
鈥淭en years before that, nobody would have cared,鈥 says Ed Newman, Zero Waste director for local nonprofit Rural Action and former recycling and refuse manager at 51社区.
While it鈥檚 hard to quantify how many people in Southeast Ohio cared about waste 10 years ago, the actual numbers surrounding the waste itself are readily available: In 2010, Athens and Hocking Counties recycled only 8.9 percent of residential and commercial waste鈥攖hat is, diverted it from the landfill鈥攁nd commercial composting was practically unheard of outside of 51社区鈥檚 campus efforts. Today, the two counties divert 36.8 percent of all waste from the landfill through recycling. And numerous waste-related businesses and activities have been launched.
How did the region get from there to here? It鈥檚 largely a story of relationships, one that begins with the Sugar Bush Foundation, a supporting organization of The 51社区 Foundation.
In 2010, Newman served on the board of Sugar Bush, which provides grant funding to programs that foster a sustainable environment and socioeconomic development. Leaders from Sugar Bush and Rural Action brainstormed the idea of a local zero-waste economy, and Newman knew a long-term commitment to such a project was essential. 鈥淲e were exploring things we could do to be a more effective philanthropic organization,鈥 Newman recalls. The board decided to practice 鈥渃atalytic philanthropy鈥 wherein the foundation would be the catalyst for what would become the Appalachia Ohio Zero Waste Initiative, serve as a partner in the program, and make a long-term commitment to it.
In the end, that meant a 10-year pledge and more than $1.2 million in grants. The project kicked off when Sugar Bush approached Rural Action and OHIO鈥檚 Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs to request a proposal for a zero-waste program.
鈥淲e have a value of joint design,鈥 says Hylie Voss, president of the Sugar Bush Foundation and daughter of its founders, Don and Mary Anne Flournoy. 鈥淲hile we don鈥檛 interfere with the implementation of the projects, we do participate to some level in the design. We have a voice.鈥
Image courtesy of the 51社区 Voinovich School
One of the early steps was to create a zero waste action plan. Rural Action solicited input from 200-plus organizations while the Voinovich School provided supporting surveys, research and data analysis. 鈥淭hat zero waste action planning process brought a lot of people together鈥攁nd legitimacy,鈥 says Newman.
Out of the action plan came lots of action across campus and the community. Kyle O鈥橩eefe, founding director of the Rural Action Zero Waste Program, wrote a successful grant proposal for the Athens-Hocking Solid Waste District to purchase roll-off recycling containers that allowed rural recycling access to increase from a few hours a month to 24/7. Erin Sykes, the program鈥檚 second director, embedded herself at OhioHealth O鈥橞leness Hospital for a year before work began in earnest on a five-year sustainability plan for the hospital.
On campus, staff and students joined forces with units like Culinary Services, Facilities Management, and Sorority and Fraternity Life to institutionalize change in how events are managed sustainably. And in 2019, the Voinovich School helped secure grant funding to improve the collection and processing of organic waste on campus and for athletic events.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 use a problem-solving model. We use an asset-based model,鈥 says Voss. 鈥淚n an asset-based approach, you鈥檙e now thinking about this thing鈥攚aste鈥攁s an asset. You鈥檇 better think about how to make it an asset. That helped us direct our funding.鈥
Waste-as-asset projects that have emerged include the construction of a materials recovery facility at Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers (AHRC), helped in part with funds from Sugar Bush and a feasibility study from the Voinovich School. The AHRC collects and processes recyclable and compostable materials and now employs nearly 40 people.
At 51社区 experts are researching ways to use compost to clean up impacted soils and waterways, like those prevalent in Southeastern Ohio from historical mining practices. Waste from diverse sources such as brewery waste and sewage are also being explored for beneficial uses.
Zero Waste Event Productions was established within Rural Action鈥檚 Zero Waste Program. The enterprise honed its process at the local Nelsonville Music Festival鈥攚hich has met its zero-waste goal of diverting at least 90 percent of its waste for the past six years鈥攁llowing it to gain both exposure and goodwill. It鈥檚 now an independent business serving festivals in 11 states and employing five full-time employees plus contractors who work the festivals.
鈥淭he real win-win-win is when you can reduce waste, or repurpose waste, and create jobs at the same time,鈥 Voss says. She acknowledges that there is a long way to go, but she鈥檚 proud of what the region continues to accomplish, and of Sugar Bush鈥檚 long-term partnerships. 鈥淲e鈥檝e learned with all of our projects that we want to walk with them for an extended period. It鈥檚 been an amazing journey.鈥
Feature image by Steven Turville
