Hamilton County’s Great Parks and Cincinnati Parks are turning waste into profit with a commercial biochar facility, joining a small but growing number of Midwest cities investing in the climate-friendly technology.
Similar to charcoal, biochar is a carbon-rich material created by heating wood debris without oxygen. It’s a valuable tool for farmers and gardeners because it improves soil quality, retains water and stores carbon—which in turn helps crops, plants and trees grow faster and combats climate change.
The conservation project has been in development since 2022, when it was announced with a $1.1 million budget. Now, Great Parks and Cincinnati Parks have allocated more money into the project, including:
- $600,000 from the 0.95-mill levy Hamilton County voters passed in 2021 to fund park infrastructure. This is for the composting facility, which was not originally part of the 2022 budget.
- $300,000 from Great Parks for the biochar production equipment.
- Cincinnati Parks’ $400,000 grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies.