Thanks to the submissions from many dedicated project teams and organizations, the Front Range Waste Diversion (FRWD) program has received and reviewed a remarkable array of projects submitted in response to RFA #SF011224 and RFA #MC030824. These projects exemplify the very essence of FRWD’s mission to reduce the amount of waste going into Front Range landfills and to support the region in achieving 39% waste diversion by 2026 and 51% by 2036.
Students are encouraged every year to incorporate the theme of our poster contest into their artwork. This years theme was “Trash to Treasure”. Students were encouraged to either create a poster demonstrating the possibilities of upcycling or develop a creative innovation out of upcycled materials and take a picture of it for submission.
During the 2023 legislative session, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB 23-1194, creating the Closed Landfill Remediation Grant Program. The program will provide grants to eligible local governments to help with the costs of environmental remediation efforts for, and management of, closed landfills owned by local governments.
The Pitkin County Solid Waste Center and its Motherlode Mercantile shop were involved in a collaborative project where 126 bikes, bike parts, and wheels were donated to the nonprofit, NavajoYES, according to a Pitkin County press release.
As of March 30, 2024, revisions to Section 14 of the Solid Waste Regulations are effective. The primary aim of these revisions was to address a lack of mid-tier food waste composting options within our regulatory structure. The following is a summary of changes to increase food waste composting opportunities:
The Town of Avon is thrilled to announce that the proposed “Avon Community Styrofoam Recycling Program” has received a significant boost with the approval of a $111,105 grant from the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity (RREO) program provided by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). This grant will empower Avon to implement an innovative Styrofoam recycling program that will benefit all of Eagle County and is the first of its kind in the Colorado mountain regions.
Colorado is poised to have one of the nation’s best recycling programs as it implements its best-in-class Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program. The newly released Circular Action Alliance (CAA) report charts a course towards raising the recycling rate to as high as 50% by 2035. This is all possible because the state passed HB24-1355, creating a producer responsibility program for recycling in Colorado.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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 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.
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.
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.
"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."
