The Governor's Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Pollution Prevention have been presented since 1986. YardWaste Recycles! Program, Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services, Solid Waste Management District, received one of five awards given in 1995. Governor George V. Voinovich presented the eighth annual awards on February 7, 1995.

These awards recognize outstanding commitment to improve Ohio's environment through pollution prevention. Evaluation criteria for the awards included: the overall effort to reduce waste at the source, recycle or recover materials, or conserve energy; soundness of approach; cost effectiveness; ability of the program to serve as a model for others; and effectiveness in promoting prevention as the preferred long-term approach.

What is Pollution Prevention?

Pollution prevention is the use of source reduction techniques to reduce risk to public health, safety, welfare and the environment and, as a second preference, the use of environmentally sound recycling to achieve these same goals. Pollution prevention avoids cross-media transfers of wastes and/or pollutants and is multi-media in scope, addressing all waste and environmental releases to the air, water and land.

YardWaste Recycles! Program, Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services

The Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services - Solid Waste Management District's (SWMD) yard waste recycling program set an ambitious goal of 100 percent recycling of yard waste in Hamilton County. The program uses both educational components and a memorandum of understanding to make Hamilton County's grass trimmings and leaves a resource, not a waste destined for the landfill.

Pollution Prevention Activities

At community workshops, representatives from local governments throughout the county were provided the tools needed to develop yard waste programs in their own communities. Individuals in the county were targeted through activities such as: the Just Mow It Kick Off, a one-day event featuring education booths, mulching exhibits and composting demonstrations; numerous public workshops; and billboards. The department's mascot, Spencer the Environmental Basset Hound, was placed on most published materials to bring recognition to the program, and was used as an educational tool with children.

The SWMD established a voluntary agreement among the industrial and governmental entities involved with yard waste management in Hamilton County. The result, a memorandum of understanding (MOU), is a pledge of good faith among BFI Waste Systems, Rumpke Waste, ELDA Recycling & Disposal Facility, and the SWMD. The MOU states that waste haulers will not accept source-separated yard waste, and landfill owners will not accept yard waste at their facilities. In exchange, the SWMD agreed to continue and expand the Just Mow It education campaign.

The MOU has served as an effective ban on yard waste since December 1993. Based on their area of residence, county residents have a variety of options available, such as free drop-off centers. In response to the MOU, the SWMD expanded the Just Mow It campaign into the YardWaste Recycles! campaign. YardWaste Recycles! encompasses the Just Mow It campaign along with a composting program and extensive information on all yard waste disposal options.

Looking Ahead

The Department of Environmental Services already has begun its 1995 YardWaste Recycles! campaign with a multi-channel communications effort. Television, radio, newspaper and billboards have been used to disseminate information about the various yard waste recycling opportunities available to Hamilton County residents. Along with paid advertising, the campaign has attracted significant media attention in the Cincinnati Enquirer and local television news broadcasts. The department's YardWaste Hotline has received many calls and has served as an important tool for literature distribution. The campaign will continue in the fall with an intensive home composting education campaign.

The department also is establishing a Business Assistance Program to assist small businesses, institutions and other organizations with waste reduction and recycling. A newly-hired business specialist is creating a Business Waste Reduction and Recycling Handbook and is currently conducting waste assessments for a select group of companies in the county.

Other efforts include an ozone education program, expanded in-school programs, and a household hazardous waste collection program for the spring and fall.

For More Information

Christine Hitchcock, Public Affairs Coordinator YardWaste Recycles! Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services Solid Waste Management District 1632 Central Parkway Cincinnati, OH 45210 (513) 333-4720

This is the 28th in a series of of fact sheets Ohio EPA has prepared on pollution prevention. For more information, call the Office of Pollution Prevention at (614) 644-3469.