Need Help Recycling in Colorado?
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can help you find a recycler or drop off center near you, electronics recyclers, paint recycler, and hard to recycle materials recycler.
Plastic Recycling
Looking to increase your recycling efforts? Bubble wrap, plastic wrap, zip bags, and so much more are all recyclable, but they can’t be recycled through standard curbside recycling. Instead, collect the materials you have and drop them off at participating retailers near you!
Top 5 Recycling Questions
1. How does Colorado compare to other "green" recycling states?
Colorado is not doing a great job with recycling relative to the rest of the nation. In 2018, 17% of the municipal waste stream was recycled or composted in Colorado; the rate for the rest of the nation was about 35%. About half of the counties in Colorado have recycling available for residents at the curb. In 2021, the municipal solid waste diversion rate rose slightly from 15.3% to 16%, while the total diversion rate fell from 35.8% to 31.2%. Details on the specific category changes, as well as diversion trends, and compost data, can be found here.
Eunomia Research & Consulting and the Ball Corporation published the 50 States of Recycling Report, a comparable assessment of common packaging materials based on 2018 data. This calculation set a baseline in each state that can be used to inform policy, design programs, and assess infrastructure needs. Check it out to see how Colorado ranks up to other states.
2. Do recyclables really get recycled?
Recyclables have value and once separated from trash and collected as recyclables, are very rarely thrown into landfills. Recyclables are sold to markets for a profit (revenues can vary depending on local and international economies). It does not make business sense to separately collect recyclables and then pay to put something in a landfill that has value in the markets.
3. Does recycling reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Even taking into account the recycling trucks on the road and transportation impacts, the embedded energy recovered in recyclables dramatically outweighs the emissions from transportation.
4. How can I recycle?
Recycling services vary depending on where you are located. The best way to know what is in your area ic to contact your waste hauler or your local government office for options in your area.
5. Why isn't recycling free for all households?
Someday it may be free, but right now recycling is only cheaper than trash service. On average, a collection hauler will charge a household around $3-$5/month to collect recycling and around $8-$12/month (or more) to collect trash. The actual recyclables are only a portion of a hauler’s total budget and expenses. To collect recyclables haulers must still purchase trucks and carts/bins, staff the trucks to collect the materials, purchase fuel, provide maintenance, etc. These costs are nearly the same for recycling as for trash. However recycling, unlike trash, once collected can be sold as a commodity. Haulers must pay to dispose of trash in a landfill.
Facts, Figures and Resources
- Colorado recycling rates from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Eco-Cycle's 2022 State of Recycling and Composting Report
- Integrated Solid Waste & Materials Management Plan
- Economic Study of Recycling in Colorado
- Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in the United States: Facts and Figures from the EPA
- Looking for more ways to go for Zero Waste this holiday season? Check out Eco-Cycle's Zero Waste Holiday Guide for environmentally-smart tips to have a less wasteful holiday season.
- Denver Reuse Business Directory
- EPA's WAste Reduction Model (WaRM) was created to help solid waste planners and organizations estimate the energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions from several different waste management practices. Individual WAste Reduction (iWaRM) is the consumer version of WARM – it helps you understand the energy saved by recycling small quantities of common household products, rather than landfilling them.
- The Sustainable Materials Management Prioritization Tools from the EPA are lifecycle-based tools offer a starting place for governments, trade associations, NGOs, companies, small enterprises, and other organizations to establish priorities for environmental improvement, focus their limited financial and human resources where action could offer greater holistic benefit, and consider key industries for collaboration.
- More Jobs, Less Pollution: Growing the Recycling Economy in the U.S. (PDF), produced by the Tellus Institute, provides strong evidence that an enhanced national recycling and composting strategy in the United States can significantly and sustainably address critical national priorities including climate change, lasting job creation, and improved health.
- Recycling and Climate Change: Reducing GHG Emissions, Pollution, and Energy Consumption Using Materials Management Strategies
- Recycling: A Cornerstone of Sustainability
- Recycling and the Economy: Grow Jobs and Increase Economic Development
- Bottle Bill: Why Doesn't Colorado Have One?
- Don't Trash the Holidays
|
