SWACO partners with eateries to reduce food waste

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) has long identified food waste as one of the largest components of what central Ohioans throw away, making up 15 percent of annual refuse collections with nearly a million pounds arriving at the landfill each day. In 2019, SWACO, in partnership with dozens of community partners, launched Save More Than Food, which is helping to prevent food waste at homes, schools, businesses and in the food industry. Now, SWACO is expanding those efforts through a partnership with several local eateries to pilot a new restaurant composting program at Budd Dairy Food Hall, and Joya’s and Kittie’s Cakes of Worthington.

As part of the pilot, each of the restaurants underwent an initial waste audit in which experts from Green Scope Consulting sorted through everything that was being thrown away each day. The results showed that up to 75 percent of what was going into the trash can could have been recycled or composted instead of going to the landfill. Next, the restaurants contracted with a local compost hauler to collect their organic material and turn it into healthy compost, with SWACO picking up the bill for the first six months of service, after which the restaurants will take over the hauling costs.

In the first five months of the pilot program, the three restaurants together diverted more than 20,000 pounds of organic material from the landfill. Final results will be tallied at the beginning of March, with the restaurants then taking over the cost of compost hauling going forward.

“At Budd Dairy, we believe in being better today than we were yesterday, and better tomorrow than we are today. Part of that growth is taking care of our community and being good stewards by helping do our part in diverting waste from our landfills. We strive to be a part of the solution to problems we face as a community, state and nation. We are proud to do our part and I am proud of our team in helping to divert almost 15,000 pounds so far,” said Jeremy Hughes, general manager of Budd Dairy Food Hall.

When the first round of restaurants have completed the pilot, SWACO is optimistic the results will support working with as many as 10 new restaurant partners this year to continue to divert food waste and other organic materials from the landfill and into healthy compost.

SWACO will also be rolling out a new Food Waste Champions program later this spring to assist all sorts of local businesses in their work to divert food waste and other organic materials from a landfill.

Published March 2025