Ohio is the heart of the Industrial Midwest, and America’s bellwether state, rocked in recent years by the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Auto salvage and recycling are big business here, and with labor unions—a major power in the state—now onboard with green job efforts, Ohio is rapidly engaging in all manners of environmental projects. Here is the latest in recycling and the environment for the Buckeye State.

Recycling To Be Expanded in Downtown Columbus

Ohio's capital city is a bustling urban area. With more than 100,000 people working, living and shopping in downtown Columbus every day, solid waste is produced by the ton. With space beginning to look tight in the county’s landfill, and increased concerns about environmental damage, Columbus’ civil and business leadership has inaugurated an innovative new recycling program for the city’s downtown.

The Capital Crossroads Special Improvement District is working to provide recycling for 35 property owners in downtown Columbus. It offers a collectively bargained recycling pickup contract for the businesses, offering greater leeway and input as to who hauls the recyclables and when and how they go about doing it. Many wait to see how the unique public-private environmental partnership will go.

Ohio Gets Department of Energy Grant for Alternative Energy

Energy is at the core of many of our environmental problems, and Ohio’s history as a coal producing and coal burning industrial state has heightened awareness of energy’s precarity. With President Obama’s stimulus package in full effect, money for clean energy and other environmental improvements is raining down on the Buckeye State.

Federal stimulus money from the Department of Energy is matching funds raised by a state government initiative to increase Ohio’s utilization of renewable energies—at least $45 million for simply testing wind turbines. Recycling is also getting federal grant money, though auto salvage and recycling may or may not be involved. So-called biofuels—hydrocarbon fuels made from agricultural products such as corn, sugarcane and grasses—get a big boost, as does a new $30 million fund (to be maintained in part by revolving contributions from the DOE) to provide ongoing energy efficiency improvements around the state.

Cuyahoga River’s Comeback Making Waves

The New York Times came to Cleveland this month to report on what the EPA first declared—the Cuyahoga River has turned around. Cutting through downtown Cleveland and for years buffeted by heavy industry, the waterway had become perhaps the most polluted in America. The most famous image was from 1969 when the river actually caught fire and city firefighters struggled to put out the blaze. The Times reports that the iconic image of a river so polluted it could burn was a major inspiration to the nascent environmental movement.

Forty years later this month, things have changed. The EPA is cautious in its praise, noting that the improvements have been remarkable—fish are back, recreation on the river has increased and a fire would be impossible at this point. Things have changed, and with new environmental initiatives in the state, further improvement is anticipated.