Keep Cincinnati Beautiful collected over a million pounds of waste last year in an effort to reduce illegal dumping and litter.
“Don’t Dump the ‘Nati” started a few years ago as a way for Cincinnati residents to dispose of large items like furniture.
"We're really filling a gap for communities to be able to dispose of their waste, ultimately reducing dumping litter and blight in communities," said KCB Environmental Services and Green Space Director Alistair Probst.
The program has expanded a lot over the last few years. There were nine events last year at a site in Northside that’s larger than the previous location in South Fairmount. Probst says they started accepting e-waste, recyclable materials, construction and demolition debris, as well as landscape debris. They also collected over 4,200 tires and 33,000 pounds of scrap metal.
"Folks that got caught for legally dumping are now attending this event, so they're doing the right thing," he said. "The other really cool thing that we're seeing are our active community partners taking the initiative to clean up a dump site and then bring those materials to the event."
Breakdown of waste collected
- Landfill: 1,004,111 pounds
- Construction and demolition: 36,500 pounds
- Tires: 4,250
- Scrap metal: 33,620 pounds
- Electronic waste: 16,772 pounds
- Yard waste: 64,381 pounds
- Recycling: 12,100 pounds
The program is limited to Cincinnati residents due to funding and capacity, but Probst says they’d eventually like to expand beyond city limits. He says they're also considering how to accept hazardous waste like paint at future events.
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