Ray Leard swung the plastic bucket back and forth through the brisk morning air to get a feel for its rotting contents.
鈥淕ot a full one here,鈥� he called out. 鈥淧umpkin for sure.鈥�
He still had several hours left of trading Bexley residents鈥� leftover produce, coffee grounds, eggshells and table scraps for empty compost containers. In a week, he鈥檇 be back to do another swap.
Someday, food waste pickup might be as routine as curbside garbage and recycling services. For now, it鈥檚 an experiment.
鈥淭he idea is to make it easy and prove this can work anywhere,鈥� said Leard, who owns Innovative Organics Recycling, a compost company in Columbus.
More people extol the virtues of a zero- or reduced-waste lifestyle during the holiday season, when Americans toss 25 percent more trash and 33 percent more food.
But year-round, most of the trash that ends up in the regional landfill could have been recycled, composted or reused, according to the Solid 91仓库 Authority of Central Ohio.
That鈥檚 partially because the infrastructure needed to reduce widespread waste is still in early stages, said regional planners, local civic leaders and business owners.
Regardless, residents are increasingly demanding services to help them reduce their environmental impact.
So it鈥檚 up to local governments and forward-thinking businesses to experiment, said Bexley Mayor Ben Kessler, pointing to his city鈥檚 curbside compost pilot program as an example.
鈥淭his is a next-generation habit and behavior,鈥� he said.
Next year, for the first time in its history, SWACO plans to release a public policy agenda in the hopes of formally boosting grassroots waste reduction efforts.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got a lot of work and a lot of research to do,鈥� said SWACO Executive Director Ty Marsh.
Originally, Bexley officials hoped 300 households would participate in its trial compost program. Almost 400 signed up.
鈥淭he interest was way more than we anticipated,鈥� city Service Director Bill Dorman said.
In other central Ohio cities, electronic waste drop-offs, electric vehicle fleets, modern recycling initiatives and energy conservation are becoming standard features of local government and business operations.
City leaders in central Ohio say that鈥檚 because their constituents are increasingly demanding eco-friendliness.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all more aware of the footprint we leave. We all want to do the right thing,鈥� Upper Arlington spokeswoman Emma Speight said. In 2018, that city will roll out a new recycling program featuring larger bins.
鈥淏y giving them a big recycling container, we think the instinct will be to fill it up,鈥� she said.
More than 30 communities have signed on to a regional push to adopt sustainable practices at municipal levels, said Rachael Beeman, an associate planner for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
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