Sharon Lutz is passionate about keeping Whitewater Township’s roads and waterways clean.
As WeTHRIVE! neighborhood navigator for Whitewater, Sharon organizes roadside and community cleanup days. Her Green Acres Litter Gitters program keeps trash out of the Whitewater River. She also does monthly river water quality monitoring for Rivers Unlimited.
Her next goal? To keep trash out of landfills by focusing on recycling.
“For many years I’ve been wanting to bring more recycling into our township,” Sharon said. Residents can pay Rumpke for curbside recycling service, but that’s not an affordable option for everyone.
So Sharon is asking businesses in the community to consider recycling. And she’s setting the example by starting with her own family business, Green Acres Kayak Rental.
Help from Hamilton County Recycling
To set up recycling at Green Acres, Sharon worked with Mary Cropenbaker, business specialist with Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District (a WeTHRIVE! partner). Mary helps businesses recycle through the Let’s Stop Waste program.
“Sharon has been really great,” Mary said. “When we met with her about recycling for her business, she was really thinking about her community as a whole … She is the exact sort of champion we are looking for.”
For Green Acres, Mary worked with Rumpke to bring in recycling dumpsters and schedule weekly recycling pickups. Let’s Stop Waste also provides free recycling containers and signage.
The first weekend recycling was available at Green Acres, customers filled an 8-yard dumpster in one day. Now they have three 8-yard dumpsters and Rumpke picks up recycling twice per week.
Getting other businesses to recycle
Sharon is now going to other businesses in Whitewater Township and saying, ‘look what I’ve done at Green Acres.’ “My big goal is to make recycling more affordable and promote it and reach out to businesses, using my own business as a guinea pig,” she said.
Sharon Lutz runs the WeTHRIVE! in Whitewater Township Facebook page. Be sure to like and follow to stay up to date on activities and events. You can also learn more about WeTHRIVE! in Whitewater Township here.
Will recycling cost my business more?
According to Mary Cropenbaker of Hamilton County Recycling, adding recycling doesn’t necessarily increase costs for businesses. “The hope is that if you are increasing recycling then you’re diverting waste that would go into landfill dumpsters,” she explained. “The goal is to reduce the number of landfill dumpster pickups that you have to pay for to at least make it cost-neutral.”
Do you want to increase recycling in your community or business?
Hamilton County Recycling is here to help. They can answer questions, give advice, and provide technical assistance. Contact Mary Cropenbaker at mary.cropenbaker@hamilton-co.org or 513-946-7732.
Sharon Lutz is the WeTHRIVE! neighborhood navigator for Whitewater Township. 
Sharon is passionate about keeping the Whitewater River clean. 
Litter Gitters collect trash as they kayak down the river. 
Sharon collects samples for water quality monitoring. 
Mary Cropenbaker (far right) with Hamilton County Recycling helped Green Acres start a recycling program. 
Reminders to Green Acres customers to recycle. 
More recycling means less trash in the landfill!