Hamilton County reports 53.4% diversion rate, outlines organics strategy and $1M food-rescue grant

Michelle Balz, director of the Solid Waste Management Program, briefed commissioners May 12 on diversion performance and current initiatives.

“Our mission is to reduce how much waste goes to the landfill,” Balz said, reporting Hamilton County’s 2024 diversion rate at 53.38%, the highest among the largest urban counties in Ohio.

Balz described several programs: an $800,000 residential recycling incentive distributed to 48 participating communities (Milford is in a different district), household hazardous-products collection events, a 513 Green business-certification program (65 organizations certified), and a $1 million food-rescue equipment grant drawn from a carryover balance intended to increase rescue capacity by roughly 1,250 tons.

On organics processing, Balz summarized a county study that estimated a residential processing need of about 18,000 tons and recommended a decentralized, public-private approach rather than a single large facility. The study estimated that building a single 5,000-ton facility could cost $7–14 million and that a three-facility, medium-scale approach would better match stakeholder preferences and resilience objectives. Balz said the county is pursuing public-private partnerships and an on-farm composting pilot (21 farms expressed interest) rather than county ownership and operation of processing facilities.

Commissioners asked about funding and program stability; Balz said the programs are funded through landfill tipping fees, that the tipping fee revenue funds restricted waste-diversion uses and that staff would provide additional budget detail and historical grant allocation figures on request.

Next steps: staff will continue evaluating public-private partnership proposals for organics processing, expand community hazardous-waste events, and provide the Commission with historical grant-allocation figures and more detailed budget documentation.