Study reveals economic impact of recycling in central Ohio

According to a study commissioned by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO), Columbus, Ohio, at least 372 recycling businesses in central Ohio directly employ more than 5,000 workers with a payroll of $235 million and generate $1.3 billion in revenue. When indirect and induced impacts of the companies supported by the recycling industry are included, those figures rise to a workforce of 10,000 employees and $2.5 billion in revenue, SWACO says.

The study, which is available at www.swaco.org/DocumentCenter/View/1076/Economic-Impacts-of-Central-Ohios-Recycling-Industry-June-2018, also documents the direct connection between increased recycling and job creation. In fact, the report suggests that if Franklin County’s residents and businesses diverted 35 percent more of the material that is currently going to the landfill, an estimated 400 additional jobs would be created, equating to $19 million in new payroll and $115 million in new gross revenues for central Ohio.  

“What we’re beginning to document is that recycling means business in central Ohio,” says Kyle O’Keefe, director of innovation and programs at SWACO. “While the recycling industry in central Ohio may not be well-known, it packs a collective economic punch and is much larger than is perceived. We always knew recycling was good for the environment; now SWACO is documenting that it’s a local economic driver and a jobs producer, as well.”

SWACO hired DSM Environmental Services Inc., Windsor, Vermont, to conduct the study and document the economic contributions of the recycling, reuse and remanufacturing industry.

The report evaluated three sectors of the recycling industry defined as:

1.     businesses that collect and process recyclable materials and organics;

2.     businesses that rely on recycled materials to create new products;and

3.     businesses that reuse materials that would otherwise be discarded.

While businesses that rely on recycled materials to create new products, often referred to as recycling-reliant industries, comprise the smallest number of businesses (32), the report documents that those businesses support the highest paying and largest number of jobs.

“Recycling’s environmental benefits combined with the documented potential to create jobs throughout the value chain—from collection through processing to manufacturing—provides a strong incentive for SWACO and its member communities to help support and strengthen the region’s recycling infrastructure,” says Natalie Starr, DSM Environmental Services. 

Following recent decisions from China and other countries to no longer purchase loads of recyclables from the United States, opportunities exist in central Ohio to support and create domestic markets for these materials and to increase efforts related to proper recycling of accepted materials, SWACO says.

In 2016, an estimated 2.1 million tons of residential and business waste was generated in Franklin County, of which 46.5 percent were recycled instead of sent to the landfill, SWACO says. Of the more than 1 million tons of material sent to landfill, nearly 70 percent still had the potential to be diverted through recycling or composting.

“The county commissioners have long been committed to environmentally conscious policies,” says Franklin County Director of Economic Development and Planning James Schimmer. “This study just illustrates another way in which thinking green is good for not only the environment but also the economy.  Recycling is an important part of development in central Ohio.”

“This report is simply the beginning of our efforts to document and strengthen central Ohio’s recycling industry and circular economy,” O’Keefe says. “We will use this information to increase our diversion activities and to create an economic development strategy that leverages all of SWACO’s assets to further contribute to the local economy.”

SWACO says it will continue to expand its database of recycling, recycling-reliant and reuse and remanufacturing industries created from this project.