Ohio

Ohio is located in the American midwest, bordered by Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Lake Erie. The seventh most populous state, Ohio is home to approximately 11.5 million residents and is a bellwether of political sentiments. As a major industrial power, Ohio works to balance a healthy business environment with policies that encourage sustainable practices, especially with regard to waste collection and disposal. To that end, the Ohio legislature has established a number of initiatives regarding the disposal of solid and infectious waste, with the intention of encouraging residents to recycle, reduce, or reuse solid waste generated in the state.

Centrally located in the United States’ industrial heartland, Ohio has important links to both the northeast and midwest. Ohio became a state in 1803, and since that time, has been one of the larger states in terms of population. Its central location has resulted in Ohio's importance to the nation's transportation system. Ohio has over 300 miles of coastline, which provides for numerous seaports that facilitate the importation of natural resources and the export of manufactured goods. Located within a day's travel of 50 percent of the U.S. population and 70 percent of the nation's manufacturing capacity, Ohio has a strong network of highways and railroad tracks that permit a tremendous amount of business and cargo transportation through the state. Ohio has been a transportation and trading center since the 18th century, when the French established a series of trading posts in the region to assist in the control of fur trading in the area. As part of the Treaty of Paris, signed in 1763, the region was ceded to British control in settlement of the conflicts that led to the Seven Years War between the British and the French. After the American Revolutionary War, claims to the Ohio country were vested with the United States.

In 1787, the United States created the Northwest Territory under the auspices of the Northwest [Page 624]Ordinance. The Northwest Territory, which contained Ohio, prohibited slavery and was first settled by a group of Revolutionary War veterans, who founded Marietta in eastern Ohio in 1788. Becoming a state after President Thomas Jefferson signed an act of Congress setting Ohio's boundaries and approving its constitution, Ohio grew rapidly during the first half of the 19th century. During the American Civil War, Ohio grew into a powerful manufacturing and transportation center for the nation. Ohio's central location in the conflict made it a vital conduit for federal troops. Ohio's railroads expanded rapidly during the Civil War, as did many of the ancillary industries needed to support these, such as manufacturing infrastructure. Since that time, Ohio has continued as a manufacturing leader, with this status continuing to the present day. If it were an independent nation, Ohio would have the world's 20th-largest economy, according to forecasts from the World Bank. Ohio has strengths in a variety of sectors, including aerospace and defense, automobile manufacturing, bioscience, healthcare, iron and steel, logistics, nanotechnology, and rubber and plastics. These industries have driven Ohio's decisions regarding waste collection and disposal.

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