Top Five Local Sustainability Resources

By Alicia Stock

Sustainable Mariemont Volunteer

Mariemont’s GoZero Food Scrap Collection Site

Why We Love It: Located right in our own backyard, this program gives Mariemont residents the option to drop off various types of waste to be commercially composted instead of sent to a landfill. Commercially compostable waste includes food scraps, pizza boxes, dog poop, dryer lint, pumpkins, yard waste, and more. The fee to join this program is $75 per year. Thanks to the participation of more than 45 local residents, over 10,000 pounds of waste were diverted from the landfill last year! Contact Mandy Rohal at mandyrohal@yahoo.com to sign up.

Location: Green Go-Zero Compost Bins are located in a fenced area behind the Mariemont Municipal Building at 6907 Wooster Pike.

Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub

Why We Love It: “The Hub” is a great place to take hard-to-recycle items, including the pill bottles and batteries that Sustainable Mariemont has collected at Ace Hardware in the past. These items and more can now be recycled at the Hub. Founded in 2021, this nonprofit accepts clean pill bottles, plastic cutlery and straws, Styrofoam, office supplies, rigid plastics #1-7, eyeglasses, coffee bags, and more for free. For a fee, they will recycle batteries, light bulbs, tires, electronics, and more. The Hub also offers shopping hours where you can find various items, including but not limited to fabric, tile, clothing hangers, gardening pots, and office supplies. Items are free but donations to this non-profit are appreciated. Visit CincinnatiRecyclingAndReuseHub.org for additional information.

Location: 911 Evans St, 45204 (West Side of Cincinnati)

Buy Nothing Hyde Park/Oakley/ Madisonville/Mt. Lookout Facebook Group

Why We Love It: The goal of the international Buy Nothing Facebook group is to “build community while decreasing the quantity of materials we are sending to our landfills.” This group encourages people within specific neighborhoods to post items they no longer need and reach out to their community for items they need or want.

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Sustainability Resources (from previous page)

Everything offered on the site is free and there is no bartering or selling allowed. In this group, one man’s trash truly is another’s treasure. You will see all sorts of items offered here, ranging from furniture and electronics to plastic cups and egg cartons. You can even request or offer the gift of time (asking if someone will shovel an elderly neighbor’s driveway, for example).

Location: This Facebook group serves multiple zip codes, including 45227. People generally offer porch pickup for items, making it an easy and convenient way to share unwanted items with our neighbors.

Scrap it Up

Why We Love It: Scrap it Up is a local nonprofit that aims to keep gently used art materials out of the landfill. They accept donations of arts and crafts supplies, jewelry making supplies, fabric, paper products, clean containers (baby food jars, cigar boxes, etc), office supplies, and more. These items are then sold at low-cost as an affordable option for teachers, parents, artists, students, and craft-lovers. Appointments must be made for donation drop off. Refer to the website ScrapItUpCincy.org for hours and more details.

Location: 5935 Pleasant Ridge Rd. Parking is available in the upper lot of the Pleasant Ridge Recreation Center.

Simply Zero and Fill More Waste Less

Why We Love Them: These two retail stores are both locally owned and offer bulk refillable options for cleaning products, dishwasher and laundry soap, shampoo, body wash, body lotion, and more. These shops allow you to refill your own bottles or jars instead of buying single-use plastic containers. You can also find a variety of sustainable products including reusable paper towels, wool dryer balls, bamboo toothbrushes, biodegradable kitchen sponges, etc. These make great unique gifts for the environment lovers in your life.

Location: Simply Zero is located in Over The Rhine at 1235 Vine Street and Fill More Waste Less is located by Findlay Market at 1813 Elm Street.

Upcoming Events

The Mariemont Community Volunteer Day is coming up on Earth Day, Saturday, April 20. Sustainable Mariemont is seeking volunteers to come help clean up and refurbish the Pool’s lounge chairs to give them new life and keep usable materials out of landfills. Please follow the QR code below to sign up for a two-hour shift.

Join Mandy Rohal on Saturday, April 27 for a Composting 101 class at the library. Visit the Sustainable Mariemont Facebook page for more details on this and the Earth Day Community Volunteer event.

Want to get involved with Sustainable Mariemont? Please email us at sustainablemariemont@gmail.com to find out about volunteer opportunities.