1. GreenSpot Events and Local Reminders:
Low Flow Shower Heads:
If you requested a low flow shower head after our last newsletter, you are on our list to be emailed when we get more in stock. If you have not requested a shower head yet, but you are interested in receiving one, feel free to send us an email with the memo "free shower head". Thank you for helping reduce water consumption here in Columbus, Ohio.
Lawn Mower Exchange:
Our team is hard at work prepping for this year's annual Lawn Mower Exchange Event in April. More details to be announced... If you'd like to get on our wait list to exchange your working gas mower for a rebate towards a discounted electric mower, please email GreenSpot@columbus.gov with the memo "Lawn Mower Exchange request"
Spots are reserved on a first come, first served basis. If you are waitlisted, there is a good chance you'll get a call the day-of the event when people do not show up for their reservation time slot! We are also increasing our lawn mower quantity this year.
GreenSpot Tours! Compost Facility Opportunity:
If you'd like to meet up with us for a tour of our compost facility called "Com-Til" at 7000 Jackson Pike in Lockbourne, Ohio 43137, please email GreenSpot@Columbus.gov with the memo "Com-Til Tour" to reserve a spot on the free tour! You can join us either Friday, April 11th at 10am, or Thursday, April 17th at 1pm. Please indicate which date you prefer, and the number in your party.
  
City of Columbus Transitions to New Micromobility Service Partner:
The City is transitioning to a new shared mobility provider soon, with a diverse fleet of bikeshare and e-scooter devices. In preparation for this transition, CoGo Bike Share service ended on Friday, February 28th. For those with CoGo memberships, please visit this website to manage your membership during this transitional period.
Other Local Happenings:
Circular Thrift Events
- March 30th - UA kids clothing swap: 1 -3 Thompson Park North Shelter House. More info HERE
- April 6th - Bexley Spring Kids Clothing Swap; sign up HERE
2. YCAF Round 2!
The Youth Climate Action Fund is back! Like last year, this program is offering micro-grants ($1,000-$5,000) for youth-led climate projects. More program details on our website here: www.columbus.gov/YCAF.
We are asking for your help in amplifying this opportunity by sharing it with your networks! We want to get the word out to any young Columbus leaders (15-24) who are passionate about climate and the environment, as well as teachers, community leaders, and non-profits who may be interested in helping to develop, guide, and mentor a project.
Please feel free to contact Melanie Ford (MLFord@columbus.gov) with any questions. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and if received by March 15 will be considered for the initial round of awards on Earth Day (April 22).
3. Join Us for a Resilience Hubs Focus Group!
Resilience Hubs are community spaces designed to provide support, resources, and connection before, during, and after weather-related emergencies. We want to hear from you to help shape a network that ensures Central Ohio neighbors stay safe, prepared, and supported—now and in the future.
Join us for one of our upcoming focus groups:
📅 Tuesday, March 11 | 5:00–6:30 PM 📅 Tuesday, March 25 | 4:00–5:30 PM 📍 1192 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201
🔗 Register here: bit.ly/ResilienceHubsFocusGroup
After you register, we’ll send you an invitation with the details for your selected date, including the event address. Your voice matters—let’s build resilience together!
 
4. Imperium, OSU, and Lehigh University Research Question
Share your experiences about electricity salespeople!
Help OSU and Lehigh University with an important study about energy marketers. By participating in a 20-30 minute online interview, you will help researchers and policymakers better understand consumer experiences in the energy market. You can be paid $25 (Amazon digital gift card) for your time, and you will be able to participate from the comfort of your own home or where you feel most comfortable at a time convenient for you. To participate or learn more, please visit: https://u.osu.edu/energymarkets/. If you have any questions, please contact osu-energy-market-study@osu.edu or 614-292-6525. Eligibility: To participate, you must be 18+, the primary person responsible for managing your home electric bill, and have lived in either Ohio or Pennsylvania for the last 12 months.
5. Central Ohio Reuse Coalition
Central Ohio Reuse Coalition Launches Circular Economy Pilot in Bexley and Columbus!
The Central Ohio Reuse Coalition (CORC) will launch a first-of-its-kind circular economy coffee shop reuse program in Ohio as an initial step towards reducing the approximately half-million single use coffee cups thrown away in Central Ohio daily. CORC is comprised of nonprofits, local sustainability groups, green businesses, faith-based organizations and committed individuals who live and work in Central Ohio. CORC is also a chapter of the Austin-based Plastic Reduction Project.
With grant funding from the City of Columbus and Upstream Solutions, and in partnership with S’wonderful Times Café in Bexley and Community Grounds Coffee Shop in Columbus, CORC is launching a reuse solution that keeps cups circulating in an open-loop system.
Open loop means that customers are responsible for returning the cups to the shops, where they are sanitized and placed back in circulation for the next customer. In a reuse program, customers check out a reusable cup much like borrowing a book from a library. When they return for their next order, customers check in the dirty cup and check out a clean cup. The coffee shop washes the dirty cups as they would for their dine-in orders.
Participation and tracking are facilitated by the stainless-steel cup provider, Okapi Reusables, whose platform manages the checking out and returning of the cups.
Okapi reusable cups
CORC’s reuse program has two goals: to provide a healthier and more sustainable model for take-out beverages than disposable cups and begin to make a dent at reducing the more than half-million cups that are thrown away in Central Ohio each day.
The Columbus City Council voted to fund a yearlong pilot program for coffee shops in the city, making it a cost-neutral endeavor for early adopters. “The data we collect from the pilot will help CORC work out the kinks in the program and better understand the preferences of both coffee shop owners and customers,” reports Dan Barash, CORC’s Co-Director. “This information is crucial as we bring on more shops.”
CORC’s long-term goal is to create a network of cafes using Okapi cups powered by the Okapi platform. With a network of cafes, coffee and tea drinkers can buy a hot beverage in one shop and, when visiting another participating shop in the network, return their dirty cups and get a clean cup with their next order.
While accepted as commonplace and even desired because of its convenience, disposable cups are part of a linear “take-make-waste” model where the financial and energy resources invested in its creation are literally thrown away after a single use.
While disposable cups have a much lower price-point per unit than reusables, the disposable cup model imposes economic and environmental costs to all Central Ohio residents, whether they order takeout coffee or not. Upstream, there are environmental costs associated with the production and transportation of disposable costs. After each single use, disposable cups require local businesses and municipalities to pay for the collection and disposal of these items (costs passed down to the public in the form of taxes and built-in to the price of your takeout order). Downstream, the public assumes the cost when these disposables are dumped into local landfills. Finally, the public suffers from the downstream eyesore of litter in our streets, parks, and waterways.
Through continual reuse of the same cup, the cost per unit decreases so that once past the break-even point (approximately 80-120 uses, depending on the material used for the cup), the cost per-cup continues to decrease until eventually becomes much lower than the cost of a single disposable cup.
6. GreenSpot Member Highlight:
If you would like to be featured or nominate someone for future GreenSpot Member Highlights, please email GreenSpot's Coordinator with your photo and bio for consideration.
7. Member Dashboard Reminders:
Log your pledges and successes in your free member dashboard to see the positive change you are creating right here in Columbus and Franklin County! Recently left Franklin County or surrounding counties?
Update your GreenSpot member account with these easy steps:
1) Log in and click the “Actions” button
2) Click “Update Location”
GreenSpot is a program of Sustainable Columbus,
at the City of Columbus Department of Public Utilities.
Stay connected through our website dashboard and social media pages:
www.ColumbusGreenSpot.com
facebook.com/ColumbusGreenSpot
instagram.com/columbusgreenspot/ - some really fun content posted recently!
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