MWCD Conservation Department Focuses on Sustainability Goals

Republished with permission - By Matt Thomas, Chief of Conservation

Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District - SOPEC Member Subdivision

Shawn Tharp, recreations operation manager, receives the Gold Level award from Sarah Orlando and Tracy Coe, ODNR Ohio River Basin program coordinators, at Clendening Marina.

MWCD’s Five-Year Strategic Plan identified sustainability as a new area of focus for MWCD. Developing our first sustainability plan for an organization as operationally diverse and complex as ours is no easy task and will take cooperation and thoughtful input.

MWCD hired Paige Hay as our sustainability coordinator within the conservation department. Paige received her two-year certificate in the Natural Resources and Environmental Management program with honors from the Buckeye Career Center. She holds associate’s degrees in environmental health and safety, and medical laboratory, a bachelor’s in public health education and promotion from Kent State University, and a master’s in health education from Purdue University. She also brings experience working with Carroll-Columbiana-Harrison County Solid Waste District where she oversaw the environmental compliance program. Paige will be looking at our facilities and operations to decide where we can make large positive improvements.

Last year, MWCD partnered with Rural Action’s Zero Waste Team, and funded a pilot project on Atwood Lake Park. The results of this study found that about half the waste generated during a typical summer weekend was recyclable or compostable material. Furthermore, half the waste generated from the Atwood Fall Festival could also be recycled and reused. This year we will be conducting another waste audit at Pleasant Hill Lake Park.

A significant impact can be made by increasing our efforts to recycle shrink-wrap plastic from our marinas. This low-density plastic film is very effective at creating a low-cost protective covering for boats during the winter. Like most plastics, the use is temporary and usually only lasts one season, resulting in a large amount of material that can be recycled.

MWCD’s marinas, leased and owned, generate an estimated 25,000 pounds of plastic annually for the purpose of covering boats for winter storage. Unfortunately, only 41% of that material is recycled due to the quantity and quality of the plastic. Despite increasing recycling efforts in recent years, we have reached our limit without investing in new equipment to help condense and move more material to the recycler.

Kathryn Suggs, MWCD’s water quality coordinator, worked with our marina operators and the Ohio Clean Marina Program, and submitted a strong proposal to the Ohio EPA for necessary funds to help Atwood and Charles Mill marinas bundle and transport shrink-wrap plastic efficiently, making it more profitable to recycle. Funding has been awarded by the Ohio EPA’s Recycling and Litter Prevention Grant Program and will boost our recycling capacity at the marinas by 32%, also providing the ability to bale cardboard to reduce even more landfill waste. This effort supports our ongoing participation with the Ohio Clean Marina Program administered through Ohio Sea Grant and ODNR.

The Clean Marina Program sets guidelines and recognizes marinas that adopt best management practices to reduce environmental impacts. It also provides technical assistance for marina operators and encourages boaters to help keep Ohio’s coastal and inland waterways clean. The statewide program includes both the Lake Erie and the Ohio River watersheds. Sarah Orlando, Ohio Sea Grant Specialist, leads the Shrink-Wrap Recycling Workgroup for Ohio and has been organizing the program since 2005. She recently joined the MWCD Development Advisory Committee providing valuable connections, insight, and knowledge of programs related to sustainability.

Sarah, Paige, Kathryn, and our marina operators are working as a team with the goal of having all marinas certified as Clean Marinas. Five of the nine MWCD marinas have achieved certification, with Clendening being elevated to the Gold Level this year.

As we bring our sustainability goals into focus, we realize we can reduce our waste, conserve natural resources, lessen our carbon footprint, and extend our investments further into the future. Sustainability takes a team effort and through partnerships, we will lower utility costs, reduce waste, and continue to provide clean and safe marinas for our visitors. Clean water is our most valuable resource, and having clean marinas is not only a reflection of the care we impart on the watershed but also bears the responsibility of providing clean water for communities downstream.