A survey of what's thrown away in Great Parks of Hamilton County's trash cans turned up a lot of things that can be recycled, like cans and bottles. Great Parks' Master Plan includes increasing sustainability, so they're adding more recycling bins to parks.
Grant Manager Kara Schirmer says it's part of a bigger initiative to expand sustainability. "Our goal with this project is to reduce waste, reduce recycling contamination, and send more items that can be recycled to be recycled," she says. "We also are focusing on some of our high traffic areas and that includes golf courses as well."
Schirmer says each recycling bin will be placed next to a regular garbage can. There will also be an educational campaign, so people know what is trash, and what can be recycled.
"We've studied the type of recycled materials we often find in the trash cans in our parks, and we're using this new education campaign," she says.
Funding for the new bins comes in part from the Ohio EPA. The grant will also help pay for equipment that will let Great Parks recycle more wood debris and turn it into mulch.
The $83,133 grant required a $55,000 match from Great Parks.
