COLUMBUS: Ohio-based companies finding new uses for old items are featured this month in a state business-awareness campaign sponsored by the secretary of state.
The “new uses” theme was picked to dovetail with the start of a new year.
Recipients include a Magnolia company that refurbishes wood from barns and other historic structures for plank flooring and an Akron company that salvages wood for inventive uses from old factories, schools and houses.
One featured company, EnviroFlight of Yellow Springs, makes animal feed and oils from the bioproducts of food manufacturing, brewing and biofuel production.
Cincinnati-based Rustic Refinery reclaims wood and industrial metal for furniture, while a nonprofit warehouse in Canton provides affordable used building materials to needy families.
Ohio’s $30 billion recycling industry employs 98,000 people.