Ohio Plant Slated for Demolition

Portions of a former waste-to-energy facility near Columbus, Ohio, are nearing a date with demolition and recycling contractors.

The board of trustees of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) has approved the idea of demolishing the former plant, and will seek approval from Columbus City Council.

SWACO Executive Director Mike Long says the demolition is another part of the overall plan to put the site back into productive use. “The plant has remained idle too long,” he says. The plant operated from 1983 until the end of 1994.

Part of the facility will soon host 30,000-tons-per-year paper recycling operation run by the Grossman Group of Columbus. But other portions of the plant, including its tall emissions stacks, will be demolished to prepare parcels of land for redevelopment. “The implosion of the plant will make the property more attractive to prospective tenants,” says Long.

The three stacks, the most visible part of the building, will most likely be imploded. They are each 270 feet tall and made of reinforced concrete and brick. The walls of the stacks range in thickness from 7 inches at the top to 17 inches at the base.

The former tipping floor building will be used as part of the Grossman Group operation and will be available to host other tenants in the future. Slated to be demolished are the stacks, an office building, a boiler house, a maintenance shop and a turbine hall.