Great Parks guests will soon be able to recycle more items instead of placing them in the garbage, thanks to the addition of 370 recycling bins in high traffic park areas and golf courses over the next several weeks.

“We are excited to involve our guests in the growth of our recycling program, which will divert hundreds of pounds of waste from the landfill,” said Moran Slakmon, sustainability coordinator for Great Parks.

Expanding sustainability efforts is a key priority in the Great Parks Comprehensive Master Plan. The new Great Parks “Think Outside the Trash” campaign includes educational outreach on waste diversion while nearly tripling of the number of recycling bins in parks and golf courses. Most areas will now have a 1-to-1 ratio of recycling bins to garbage cans.

Last year, Great Parks audited the waste stream at Winton Woods to learn about user patterns and the types of recyclable items going into its garbage cans. That data is being used to identify the best locations to place these new recycling bins. The audit also indicated that cans, bottles and cups form a large proportion of the items in the waste stream and could be recycled instead.

Funding for the recycling bins comes from an $83,133 grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and $55,000 in matching funds from Great Parks, for a total investment of $138,133.

This program also includes funding for equipment to help recycle more wood debris. Great Parks staff will transform a portion of woody debris generated from the parks into mulch for garden beds and composting.