“With the new school year, it’s always a great time for new beginnings,” said Jaime Shepherd, the community outreach and education administrator at the Montgomery County Environmental Learning Center. “The more that recycling becomes a habit, the easier it is for us to do.”
The “Away is Somewhere” campaign is an educational initiative about waste reduction and recycling.
According to data from the Ohio EPA, nearly 677,201 tons of waste were disposed of in Montgomery County in 2024.
All trash put into any bin in Montgomery County finds its way to the Montgomery County Solid Waste District location in Moraine, and waste collectors there estimate that only one-third of the garbage they receive is true waste.
The other two-thirds can be recycled, reused or composted, Shepherd said.
“Away is Somewhere” provides tools to help students and their families build sustainable habits, Shepherd said.
Households can take a few easy steps to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, and reducing food waste is a good place to start, she said.
Organic material like food waste makes up more than 20% of landfill space nationwide. Shepherd said “shopping” in your refrigerator first — identifying what ingredients you have on hand instead of buying take-out or other food — helps reduce the amount of food discarded by a household each week.
“The less we buy, the less we throw out,” she said.
She said households can also consider recycling plastic materials. The solid waste facility in Montgomery County often sees plastic water or soda bottles tucked into trash bags instead of recycling bins, for example.
The campaign website features school and family toolkits, interactive videos, printable posters, games and lesson plans, environmental bingo and more.
Next year, students will also have the chance to compete in a school recycling challenge with prizes awarded to classrooms that log the most recycling.
“We want young people to grow up with that understanding that, yes, you can absolutely make an impact on your world and in your community, you have both a choice and a voice,” Shepherd said.
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