Recycling will expand across Colorado over the next six years through new curbside programs funded by corporations that create the garbage the state wants to see diverted from landfills.
Colorado’s recycling expansion was formalized this month after the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee approved a plan to be funded by fees charged to the companies that use boxes, plastic containers and shrink wrap to sell their products.
About 1 million households statewide now have access to curbside recycling, said Henry Stiles, an advocate with Environment Colorado. Through the expansion, curbside recycling programs — collecting paper, cardboard and plastic bottles, jugs and other containers — will be available to another 700,000 households by 2035.
Under state law, the companies will not be allowed to increase prices or add special fees at checkout to cover the program’s cost.
“It will completely transform our waste management system,” Stiles said. “Colorado has some of the worst recycling in the country.”
The state has pitched the new recycling program as free to all Colorado residents. Money collected through the fees paid by companies will be doled out to various public and private waste haulers, which operate recycling programs. But it’s not yet clear how those savings will trickle down to households.
Environmental groups say municipalities and residents will save millions annually. Denver, which does not directly charge residents for recycling, should receive $16.3 million by 2035 to offset its expenses, Environment Colorado and Eco-Cycle, a nonprofit focused on achieving zero waste, reported in a news release.
Studies have shown that Coloradans diverted about 16% of their waste from landfills over the last six years through recycling or composting. That is half the national average.
The new recycling plan, formally called a Producer Responsibility Program by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, saves local governments money because they will not have to foot the bill for a recycling program for their citizens, according to a news release from the health agency.
The program will create a standardized list of materials that will be recycled, according to the health department. The agency estimated that statewide recycling rates for paper and packaging will increase to 58% from 25% by 2035.
The program will be run by Circular Action Alliance, a nonprofit managed by 20 companies from the food and beverage, consumer goods and retail sectors that create and use packaging. The list of companies includes Amazon, Colgate-Palmolive, Mars Incorporated, the Coca-Cola Company and Walmart, according to the Circular Action Alliance’s website.
California and Maryland also use the alliance to run similar programs.
The program is a product of legislation that was approved in 2022.
Environment Colorado and Eco-Cycle estimate the expanded recycling program will have multiple benefits:
Colorado will recycle 410,000 tons of additional material for a total of 720,000 tons annually by 2035
Colorado will add 7,900 recycling-related jobs by 2035
Greenhouse gas emission reductions will be the equivalent of removing 278,000 cars from the road
The new fees associated with excessive packaging also should serve as an incentive for corporations to reduce what they use to package and deliver their products, Stiles said.
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“The fee sends a signal to the producer to not use so much packaging,” he said. “We are hopeful at Environment Colorado that we will see a huge reduction in packaging waste in our state.”
Colorado’s leaders have been trying for several years to reduce or eliminate waste from landfills.
On Jan. 1, Colorado retail stores stopped using plastic bags after the legislature approved a ban in 2021. And restaurants were required this year to stop using foam take-out boxes and cups.
But there have been setbacks, too.
Last year, Colorado’s largest recycler of organic materials stopped accepting items such as compostable food containers because of contamination from public collection programs. It now only accepts food waste and yard trimmings, while pizza boxes, take-out containers and utensils go to landfills.
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