Let’s Make 2023 Our Greenest Year Ever!

The Hilliard Environmental Sustainability Commission and Go Green Hilliard are proud that we take steps every day to support and expand all the sustainable efforts in Hilliard and the Columbus Area that we can. We would love to connect you with as many sustainable resources and communities nearby so that together, we can make 2023 our greenest year yet!

This list is long, but no need to feel overwhelmed! We support the Planet with regular practice not perfection! If you’re new to sustainable practices, pick a preferred topic or area and start making small changes in your life. Set up a small recycling center in your house to separate recyclable materials. Consider volunteering to build connections with your fellow community members! If you’re a pro, see if any of these links might allow you to build on your sustainable habits – or if you have a suggestion for us, please let us know, and we’ll spread the word. 

You can read about just some of the accomplishments the hard working citizens have achieved together to make Hilliard a more sustainable and green city in this month’s Eye On the Environment article by Council Member Pete Marsh.

Recycling

HESC’s next Recycling Event will be on December 28th, 9am – 12pm to collect Styrofoam and Christmas Lights by the Pole Barn across from the Municipal Building at 3800 Municipal Way, Hilliard, OH 43026.

SWACO

Recycling programs in our area are better than the national average! Check out their neat recycling tool online here to learn more about what materials can be recycled and how to recycle them. It includes valuable information about what can be recycled in your Blue Bin every Tuesday and what cannot.

• SWACO Recycle Right Tool

Terracycle at the Community Center

The HESC has partnered with Terracycle to provide additional recycling opportunities to Hilliard residents at our Recycling Events throughout the year for Candy Wrappers, Household Batteries, Pens and Highlighters, Toiletry Packaging, and Christmas Lights at the Recycling Center built by HESC Member Ed Cheshire. It’s located in the Hilliard Community Center in Roger E. Reynold’s Park. 

• Terracycle

Styrofoam near the Municipal Building

We are particularly proud of the way that our Styrofoam Recycling Program with our own on-site densifier has expanded throughout the year. We continue to forge partnerships with neighboring towns to keep as much Styrofoam out of the landfills as possible. Please check out the new Styrofoam shed, which will collect our Styrofoam in a larger, sheltered container protected from the elements. It is located next to the pole barn that houses our densifier across from Hilliard’s Municipal building. 

• Styrofoam Recycling (note that the drop off is now next to the Pole Barn, not near the Composting Bins)

Composting near the Municipal Building

The most important item to keep out of the landfills? Leftovers! Food waste is responsible for some of the most dangerous greenhouse gases in our dumps, including methane. Hilliard residents can contribute to the safe and reusable breakdown of our food waste into compost by dumping food waste into the Green Composting Bins near the LIttle League Fields across from the Municipal Building!

• Learn more about composting in Hilliard here
• GoZERO
• The Compost Exchange
• Save More Than Food (check out their Food Waste Webinar)

Coming Soon: Butt Bins! 

Our newest initiative is partnering with businesses around Hilliard to recycle those cigarette butts. We will have more information in January. 

Additional details about Recycling Opportunities are available in our last month’s blog post here. 

Keep Hilliard Beautiful

One of the easiest ways to make a direct impact on Hilliard is to connect with Hilliard’s own chapter of Keep America Beautiful. Keep Hilliard Beautiful hosts monthly cleanups throughout the year and all around Hilliard on Saturday mornings. It’s so satisfying after a morning’s hard work to turn around and immediately see what a difference your efforts have made to keep our community clean and green! Be sure to check out their podcasts!

• Keep Hilliard Beautiful
• KHB Instagram
• KHB Linktree

Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District

The Community Backyards Program through FSWCD provides educational classes for residents of Franklin County and one annual $50 rebate for items that protect our soils and rainwater. Keep an eye on the Keep Hilliard Beautiful Instagram page this year for special programs partnering with FSWCD providing Hilliard residents with in-depth information about how to properly install rain barrels on your property and more!

• Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District
• Community Backyards Program
• FSWCD Volunteer Opportunities

Gardening, Native Species and Wildlife Resources 

Love the outdoors? The Hilliard area boasts a lot of great natural areas to explore. Get involved and learn more about the way that native species and wildlife contribute to our ecosystem by investigating the resources below.

• Community Gardening in Hilliard
• Ohio Wildlife Center
• Sierra Club – Central Ohio
• Columbus Urban Forestry Master Plan
• Ohio Invasive Plants Council
• Central Ohio Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (COPRISM) – More Info
• CentralOhioNature.Org 
• OSU Tending Nature 
• How to Attract Fireflies or Lightning Bugs to Your Garden
• iNaturalist.Org
• Wild Ones
• Native Plant Trust
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
• National Wildlife Federation

Other Community Resources in the Columbus Area

Get in the know by exploring these links to see how climate change is being addressed at all levels of our community – not only at the city level in Hilliard, but at the regional and state levels, publicly and privately as well!

• MORPC Sustainable 2050
• Ohio Environmental Council
  • The Cost of Climate Change to Ohio Cities (PDF)
• Rapid 5 (on the MORPC site)
• Columbus Climate Action Plan