Look inside our landfill — and learn how to reduce what goes there
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A truck prepares to tip its trailer back and dump trash at the Franklin County Sanitary Landfill. Photo: Courtesy of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio
We rarely think about it, but our trash doesn't go "away" when we throw it away. I recently visited the dump to see what happens to it firsthand.
Why it matters: The Franklin County Sanitary Landfill near Grove City takes in 2 billion pounds of trash every year, per the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio.
- A 2019 study determined about 76% of that waste could have been diverted through recycling, composting or reuse.
Threat level: At the current trash collection rate, there's enough landfill space to last 42 more years — but Central Ohio's population is booming, and more people means more trash.
- This is bad for the environment, as decomposing materials release harmful greenhouse gases (though some is captured and reused).
- We'd also have to eventually haul our trash farther away, costing both money and local jobs, senior landfill manager Adam Burleson told me.
State of play: SWACO and local governments have been working to help residents and businesses divert more materials.
- Efforts include adding composting drop-off sites, increasing curbside recycling pickups and coordinating awareness campaigns and business partnerships.
As my tour truck climbed the massive hill leading to the landfill's working face, we were greeted with a symbol of how much work still needs to be done.
- Rows and rows of plastic grocery bags clung to a chain-link litter fence, which keeps drifting trash contained on windy days. All could have been recycled at a store.
- "There's just plastic everywhere you look," Burleson said.
💭 My thought bubble: It's hard to grasp the scope of the problem until you see it — a truck trailer tipping backwards, dumping literal tons of trash, as bulldozers shift and flatten it all.
- The dystopian dying planet from the Pixar movie "Wall-E" doesn't seem so far off.
- I immediately felt guilty. I'm a frequent recycler and thrift shopper, but I don't compost, and I slack on recycling items that aren't allowed in my curbside Columbus bin.
Yes, but: There are broader signs of progress.
- Since making curbside recycling pickups weekly instead of biweekly in 2023, the city of Columbus has collected 25% more recyclable materials and reduced trash hauled, spokesperson Debbie Briner tells us.
- In 2024, SWACO's new Recycling Convenience Center diverted over 291,000 pounds of waste.
The bottom line: Small changes can really add up.
Go deeper: Take your own virtual landfill tour
What's in the landfill
Food waste and cardboard are the landfill's most common materials out of the 76% that could have been diverted, per SWACO's most recent data.
Stunning stat: Nearly 1 million pounds of food waste arrives at the landfill every day.
- That's three-fourths a pound per person.
The alternatives: Composting breaks down food scraps into nutrient-rich fertilizer, while cardboard is recyclable in curbside bins and at drop-off sites.
What's next: SWACO plans to conduct its next waste characterization study later this year, spokesperson Hanna Greer-Brown tells Axios.
- Plus: The authority launched a new campaign today, Choose to Reuse — aimed at reducing household waste generated in the first place, which is even better for the environment than recycling.
More ways to help
It's easier than ever to recycle and reuse tricky items in Central Ohio, with new drop-off sites and programs launching in recent years.
🔋 SWACO's Recycling Convenience Center accepts items including plastic foam packaging, batteries, prescription pill bottles, appliances, bicycles, food scraps and much more.
- 10:30am–6pm Monday–Friday and 9am–4:30pm Saturday, 2566 Jackson Pike.
🪑 Columbus' Waste and Reuse Convenience Centers accept similar items, plus furniture, which goes to the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio, and clothing for Goodwill.
- 10am–6pm Tuesday–Saturday, 2100 Alum Creek Drive and 1550 Georgesville Road.
🥕 Seven free composting spots in Columbus are open 24-7.
♻️ A new program, Hefty ReNew, lets you recycle grocery bags and other hard-to-recycle plastics by placing them in a special orange bag that goes in your curbside bin.
Plus: If you live in an apartment without curbside recycling, there are hundreds of drop-off sites throughout Franklin County you can visit.
Pro tip: Use the "Recycle Right" tool to make sure you're not "wishcycling" in a bin, which does more harm than good.