RRRC Celebrates One-Year Milestone
By: Leah Dietle, Rumpke's East Area Communications Assistant
On August 6, 2024, Rumpke officially opened The Rumpke Recycling & Resource Center, and this month, we celebrate the facility’s first anniversary!
Years in the making, the facility was thoughtfully designed to meet the region’s growing recycling needs while offering a one-of-a-kind educational experience for the community.
With a capacity to process up to 250,000 tons of recyclables annually, we’ve achieved a little more than half that goal—and now we need your help to go even further.
To celebrate 12 months of operation, Rumpke is excited to share highlights from the past year—plus 12 reasons to recycle and simple ways you can do your part by recycling more today.
Milestone Facts. Did You Know?
- In one year, the facility produced 109,533 paper bales. If we put all the paper and cardboard bales together, that’s about 107 miles in length--the same distance between Columbus and Cincinnati.
- On average, the facility recovers over 900,000 aluminum cans per day.
- The facility produced 150,638 bales of recycling material.
- The facility processes material at about 65 tons per hour.
- In 2024, the facility processed 170,000 tons of recycling.
- Rumpke hosted over 100 tours for nearly 2,5000 visitors at the Education Center.
- The building’s collaborative conference spaces have hosted over 20 community events, professional training sessions, presentations and sustainability classes.
- Gained additional recycling tonnage from major industrial customers such as Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works.
- Added clear plastic clamshell containers to our acceptable items in November 2024.
- The facility tracks annual environmental impact stats daily—to date, our recycling efforts have prevented over 1,000,000 trees from being cut down.
- To date, we have saved over 500,000,000 gallons of water.
- To date, we have prevented over 30,000,000 gallons of oil from being extracted.
12 Reasons to Recycle
1. Recycling is Easy
Rumpke is committed to making recycling easy and convenient. There’s no need to sort materials—just place all recyclables loose in your recycling cart, and we’ll handle the rest!
2. Recycling Saves Energy
By recycling one aluminum can, you would save enough energy to surf the web on your computer for three hours. If we all recycle regularly, the energy savings would quickly add up!
3. Recycling Conserves Natural Resources
Did you know that recycling 1 ton of paper saves nearly 17 trees? Our natural resources are limited—using recycled materials to create new products protects these resources.
4. Recycling Protects Ecosystems and Wildlife
Recycling reduces the need to create products from raw materials, helping protect natural habitats and keep harmful waste out of rivers, oceans and forests.
5. Recycling Helps Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Energy produced from creating products using virgin materials produces more greenhouse gases. Not only does recycling use less energy, but it also saves more trees, which can absorb the excess carbon dioxide. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves nearly 17 mature trees!
6. Recycling Encourages Environmental Stewardship
Recycling encourages environmental stewardship, where we all take collective responsibility for protecting and preserving our planet by minimizing waste and promoting more sustainable habits.
7. Recycling Helps Our Communities
Recycling is essential for protecting your neighborhood’s environment and preserving natural resources for future generations.
8. Recycling Supports Innovation
Investing in recycling opens the door to innovative ways to make sorting, processing and turning materials into new products more efficient. With advanced technologies like AI, we can sort faster and with greater accuracy.
9. Recycling Helps Preserve Landfill Space
Did you know that about 70% of your trash can be recycled? Recycling saves limited space in our landfills, which are costly and complex to develop.
10. Recycling Creates Local Jobs
The recycling industry creates about nine times more jobs than landfills. Improving recycling generates new opportunities in manufacturing, engineering, collection, processing and the many support roles involved in producing reusable products.
11. Recycling Supports Local Businesses
Rumpke primarily works with manufacturers within a 250-mile radius of our facilities. When you recycle with us, you support local businesses and drive a circular economy.
12. Recycling Supports American Manufacturing
Instead of finding rare raw materials that are expensive to process, extract and reshape, American manufacturing companies can use recycled materials to create the items we want to buy.
12 Ways to Recycle More
1. Know Before You Throw
Take some time to research which materials are recyclable or not in your local area and how they should be prepared. Improper items can contaminate recycling or even cause harm to employees and equipment. Print out your acceptable items list and hang it on your fridge. Don’t be a wish-cycler!
2. Become a Sustainable Shopper
When shopping, look for products made with recyclable materials. If you have the option, choose the paper bag instead of plastic at checkout.
3. Start Small
Pick two easy items, such as plastic bottles and aluminum cans, and begin filling your recycling container. Slowly add more materials like paper and plastic to help build those sustainable habits.
4. Put Your Cart in an Easy Place
Place your cart in an easily accessible location. If the main recycling container is too large to store inside, use smaller containers, like paper grocery sacks, in various rooms as collection points.
5. Provide Recycling at Your Get-Togethers
Provide a designated recycling bin for your next get-together and encourage guests to recycle. Create your own using a cardboard box or old laundry basket with a plastic bag as a liner. (Do not place the plastic bag in your recycling cart after emptying)
Bonus
Include Rumpke’s acceptable items graphic so your guests know what’s recyclable.
6. Make it a Game
Make recycling a fun, educational activity for your kids. Fill a bag with trash and recyclables. Give each child two pieces of paper – write the word “Trash” on one and “Recycling” on the other. Randomly pull an item from the bag and ask whether it should go in the trash or recycling. They receive points for each correct answer.
7. Recycle On-the-Go
Keep a plastic bag or container in your car. If you purchase a plastic water bottle, soda can or any other recyclable material while you’re out, save it, place it in the container in your car and recycle it when you get home.
8. Set a Goal and Celebrate
Set a recycling goal with your family. After a certain amount of time, check to see if your family achieved the goal and celebrate that success.
9. Organize a Recycling Pick-up in Your Neighborhood
Pick a designated area within your neighborhood and collect any recyclable items—aluminum, steel and tin cans, plastic bottles or paper products—and place them in your recycling cart.
10. Follow Your Local Recycling Provider
Follow your recycling provider on social media and check their website for the most up-to-date information about your local recycling program.
Each recycling program is different and varies depending on location, including the type of recycling technology in the facility, access to recycling facilities, local policies and regulations and more.
11. Join an Event or Campaign
Many local nonprofits, government entities, corporations and private and public organizations will host recycling events and campaigns--especially during Earth Day and America Recycles Day. Volunteer for these projects and recycle more alongside your community.
12. Tour a Recycling Facility
Have you ever seen what happens after your recycling leaves the curb? Take a tour of a recycling facility to see the process for yourself, ask the experts your recycling questions and learn how your efforts make a huge impact.
Rumpke hosts free tours at The Rumpke Recycling & Resource Center in Columbus, Ohio. Sign up for a free tour and learn more about our unique Education Center on our website!
Are these on your shopping list? We take them!
- Ice cream containers
- Juice and broth cartons
- Clamshell containers
- Peanut butter jars
- Salad containers
Take A Tour!
Get a behind-the-scenes look at recycling in action at our state-of-the-art recycling center in Columbus! Discover how your recyclables are sorted, processed and prepared for reuse through cutting-edge technology. Perfect for students, families, community groups and eco-enthusiasts.