The purpose of the upcoming RREO rebate is to assist free public recycling drop-off sites by offsetting a portion of the transportation costs incurred by shipping recyclables to market or to a processing center. The rebate period covers costs incurred by drop-off sites from January 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. To be eligible for the rebate, each public drop-off site must have collected a minimum of 10 tons of qualifying recyclables during the rebate period and must continue to be operational and open to the public today. Additional eligibility requirements will be provided within the application.

DEN is looking for a sustainability professional who is excited at the prospect of supporting and improving our diverse and complex waste reduction and diversion programs. The successful candidate will be ready and able to get their “boots on the ground” at one of the busiest airports in the world with the ambitious goal of becoming the most sustainable airport in the world. 

Based on feedback, Circular Action Alliance (CAA) revised the three proposed recycling scenarios to:

Foam polystyrene (PS) is part of our everyday lives - from egg cartons in the grocery store, to protective cushioning in shipments, to takeout containers from our local restaurants. Because PS foam is over 90% air, it can be costly to transport for recycling. However, when the foam is densified - compacted into dense blocks - is can be transported more cost-effectively. For example, a 48-foot truckload of baled PS foam weighs around 16,000 pounds, whereas a truckload of densified PS foam weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. The Foam Recycling Coalition (a part of the Foodservice Packaging Institute) is hosting a webinar that will provide more information about foam recycling and end markets for densified foam. Additionally, the webinar will provide information on the FRC grant program that provides up to $50K per grant to public, private, or non-profit entities that are engaged with drop-off centers, curbside programs, or MRFs and looking to increase foam recycling for their communities. Grant applications will be accepted between March 18 – April 22, 2024.

• Get a jump start and download the grant application at www.RecycleFoam.org/grants. 
• Register for the Thursday, March 21, 12 pm – 1 pm ET, Grant Support for Foam Recycling Webinar at: https://recycle.zoom.us/webinar/register/9117097393025/WN_K_uWTrLlQ1asdHpXw5sKZA
  

Thank you for volunteering to support Recycle Colorado on Lobby Day. We are so glad you are here!
This page will have all the Lobby Day resources that you need for the day. Since there is a ton to cover, you can use the buttons below to navigate to the resource on this page that you need. If you ever lose this webpage, you will be provided with a QR code that has all of this information on it to access it again. 

Thank you for meeting with us!

As a Recycling Manager at the City of Fort Collins Streets Department, your primary responsibility will be to manage the Timberline Recycling Center and Hoffman Mill Crushing Facility.

The Timberline Recycling Center is a public recyclable drop-off center owned by the City of Fort Collins. It includes the unstaffed Everyday Recyclables Yard and staffed Hard-to-Recycle Materials Yard. Hoffman Mill is a crushing facility that processes concrete and asphalt aggregate, dirt and also conducts composting operations. This crew also maintains alleys, road shoulders, and coordinates mowing efforts. 

Onsite staffing and hauling at the Timberline Recycling Center are currently provided by a contractor, but transition is underway for the City to provide these services within the next year. Given that transition, this is a new position within the City, and will start off supporting and helping manage the in-house transition. 

The Manager position is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Timberline Recycling Center and Hoffman Mill. This includes managing employees, volunteers, contractors, and some hands-on work. In addition to managing the day-to-day, this position manages the site budgets, engages in mid and long-term planning, tracks materials collected at the site, and engages in overall site management. It requires on-site work year-round as well as computer-based work. 

View the full job description & Apply

Consumer Expectations for Glass Recycling Remains High

The Circular Economy Development Center’s recent stakeholder meeting explored concrete examples that show how circular models are evolving in southern Colorado, highlighting several businesses that derive their success from recovered plastics. On February 7 at Microchip’s Colorado Springs facility, business owners, government representatives and elected officials heard from Front Range Transload, a Pueblo-based material-handling company that provides the opportunity to aggregate less than full loads of material until there is enough volume for a truck or rail carload to go to market. Direct Polymers, a recycling services provider, uses the space to aggregate plastics. The company is preparing to close the loop on plastics by launching a manufacturing business in Colorado. The CEDC is helping coordinate these projects as part of circular economy development and showing other recyclers how materials could be stored for combined transport by rail or truck.

Read the full article on Waste Advantage

"In another step toward implementation of extended producer responsibility for packaging, Colorado regulators published a report laying out which materials would be covered and exploring different options for how the program could operate.

RRS is seeking applications for a Full Time Analyst to work collaboratively with staff consultants and engineers on a variety of projects including zero waste planning, collection system management, data entry, and program best practices. Projects may include:

• feasibility studies;
• waste minimization plans; 
• waste characterization and waste reduction studies; 
• economic, technical and/or risk analysis; 
• stakeholder engagement processes; 
• resource management consulting services to provide guidance in support of resource-related data collection; 
• policy analysis and/or risk analysis; and 
• planning and support for the development, planning, facilitation, coordination, and documentation of and/or for waste reduction, circularity, or zero waste initiatives. 

Read the full job description & Apply!

• Construction debris accounts for 52% of buried waste at landfill (Aspen Daily News)
• Public effort makes Pitkin County landfill stand out as state leader (Aspen Times) 
• Meet Anna Perks of Perks Deconstruction in North Denver - VoyageDenver
• Construction material recycling operation approved in Eagle County, Colorado 
• Deconstruction of Former Boulder Community Health Hospital Enters Final Phase With a Focus on City Climate Goals
• Colorado county creates landfill diversion program for C&D materials
• Recycling and composting requirement for apartments, office buildings and more looks likely to pass - Denverite
• Colorado grant opportunities provide funding for recycling projects (Construction & Demolition Recycling, 2021)
• Recycle Colorado Contractors Challenge (Construction & Demolition Recycling, 2019)

In another step toward implementation of extended producer responsibility for packaging, Colorado regulators published a report laying out which materials would be covered and exploring different options for how the program could operate.

Preliminary numbers indicate DIA processed 12,000 tons of trash in 2023 and sent 21 percent of that waste to recycling or composting instead of the landfill.

The Circular Economy Development Center is dedicated to helping Colorado’s businesses achieve the maximum value from their products and transition toward a more sustainable future.

The final draft of Colorado’s Needs Assessment report for statewide recycling has been published, and the CDPHE is now accepting feedback on this report. Circular Action Alliance (CAA) initiated this study as part of Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Program for packaging and paper products. The needs assessment is an in-depth study that assessed Colorado’s existing recycling systems and identifies opportunities for improving recycling and collection rates of covered materials.

In 2023, 1.5 to 1.8 billion fewer bags were used in Colorado. That's according to an estimate by Eco-Cycle, a nonprofit recycling center that focuses on zero waste.

Read the Full Article

"Last October, the ordinance went into effect to ensure all businesses within Aspen city limits with retail food licenses have been composting, donating, or disposing of organic waste instead of placing it within regular trash cans as had previously been accepted. And according to Waste Diversion and Recycling Administrator Ainsley Brosnan-Smith, since the program’s inception, it’s been nothing short of a complete success."

Read the Full Success Story

Sustainability Interns gain new skills in environmental sustainability while providing education and outreach in the Eagle Valley community. Interns will learn hands-on skills in fostering sustainable behaviors while also gaining valuable experience in how mountain communities, governments, and businesses are taking action and monitoring their environmental impacts.