January 18th - Tour of Mile High Workshop
The Mile High WorkShop's (MHW), repurposing project, focuses on diverting discarded marketing materials by upcycling retired billboards, used vinyl banners, and other synthetic materials. This process not only contributes to a more sustainable end market but also generates meaningful employment opportunities for individuals facing barriers due to addictions, homelessness, and incarceration. MHW's participants undergo paid on-the-job training, acquiring skills in production and industrial sewing that opens doors to long-term employment.
Since its inception in 2015, MHW has diverted over 12 tons of waste to recycling and repurposed items, averaging around 1.5 tons annually. The repurposing program has successfully secured several business contracts over the years and that has allowed us to employ 255 participants. The repurposing program has yielded remarkable results, producing over 35,000 upcycled banner products over the years. Simultaneously, the project has offered over 36,0056 paid job training hours for program participants in the sew shop.
Operating on a social enterprise model, MHW not only offers workforce readiness and comprehensive life skills training but also addresses addiction relapse and reduces recidivism rates. The organization provides mental health support through therapeutic workshops, nonclinical recovery assistance, and a Peer-to-Peer Recovery Program. Having provided paid job training to over 255 participants, MHW has successfully facilitated permanent job placements, fostering greater economic stability and self-sufficiency for vulnerable individuals in the Denver metro region.
February 15th - Glenwood Springs Compost Application
Liz Mauro and Dan Roper
March 21st - Matium
With Mitch Best
April 11th - Young Professional Meet up with SWANA
Recycle Colorado partnered with SWANA to host their first combined young professionals. Young professional meet ups are for those who are new to the industry and are looking to connect, learn, and have fun with others involved in recycling, waste and composting. This is not an age limited event and we invite anyone who is new and looking to get more involved to join. We will be touring the Denver brewery "FlyteCo", to learn about their operations and sustainability initiatives.
Get involved in the Young Professionals Network
May 16th - CDPHE's Enviroscreen
with Rani Kumar
Promoting health equity and environmental justice is a key priority at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Through an interactive discussion, attendees will learn about the state’s environmental justice mapping tool, Colorado EnviroScreen. In June 2022, a team from Colorado State University first developed Colorado EnviroScreen in collaboration with CDPHE. Members of the public and government agencies can use the tool for various purposes, including understanding patterns of environmental justice outcomes across the state and prioritizing investments and equity-promoting action. The tool brings together data about the environment, health, and socioeconomic factors to understand cumulative impacts of environmental injustice and to identify disproportionately impacted communities as defined by the Colorado Legislature.
June 20th - NREL Innovators
with Julie Curley and Kevin Sullivan
July 18th - Anhueser Busch 'Recycling League'
With Liam Vita
August 15th - Compostable Product Labeling
with Mellik Gorton
Effective July 1st, 2024, SB23-253 the Standards for Products Represented as Compostable, requires food service products and plastic products labeled as compostable sold or distributed in Colorado to be certified compostable and to be clearly marked as such. Producers of non-certified compostable products are prohibited from using misleading labeling that could imply the product is compostable.
To learn more about the program please visit the CDPHE’s Compostable Product Labeling webpage or join the Snack & Share to get your questions answered!
September 19th - Tour of Greensheen Paint Facility
We hopped offline for our September Snack & Share and met at the GreenSheen Paint facility in Denver for a tour of their facility. GreenSheen Paint collects and processes recycled paint products, producing a new paint product. For those of you heading into the front range for the Annual Meeting, this is the perfect time to stretch your legs after your drive!
October 17th - Eco-Cycle & Walking Mountains Schools Team
with Amelia Kovacs and Kim Orr
Schools present unique opportunities and challenges in waste generation and diversion. Join Walking Mountains and Eco-Cycle to learn more about school-based waste reduction education and projects made possible through partnerships.
November 14th - Why is Web Accessibility Important?
with Scott Schroeder
- 1 in 4 people have a disability. It may be visible or invisible.
- People who are blind or visually impaired experience documents differently, and an inaccessible document or form can be rendered useless for them.
- A Deaf person can’t follow a speaker if an interpreter isn’t being used. Just as someone needing closed captioning can’t follow without it.
- A document with many images and colors might look really cool to you, but to someone with dyslexia or a brain injury, it could be a jumbled mess that can’t be deciphered.
- A busy chat box in a virtual meeting can override the presenter for someone using screen reading software, and can be very challenging for someone who has to watch the presenter and the interpreter, as well as monitor the chat.
Generally speaking, accessibility means that people with disabilities can access the same things as those without a disability. Whether it is a physical, cognitive, hearing or visual impairment, disabilities can make interacting with documents, websites, virtual meetings, phones and other office equipment very difficult.
Thank you to Scott Schroeder for sharing with is the importance of web accessibility and helpful resources to make adjustments!
View the recording
Dece
DECEMBER: Achieving climate action through point source solutions in the retail food industry
with Brian Loma, Cut the Plastic EMS, [email protected]
Brian Loma has operated Cut the Plastic Environmental Mitigation Solutions since 2015, focusing on practices and policies for the planet. His work portfolio includes seeing a 71% voter approval of Denver's Waste No More regulations which mandate implementation of waste diversion practices in Residential and Commercial Properties, Event Spaces and in Construction and Demolition industries. Brian serves on the Board of Directors for Good Business Colorado and is under contract with GreenLatinos.
His presentation will focus on how we reduce greenhouse gas emissions through a collective process that includes training businesses to be effective in their compliance with localized diversion regulations that require the act of diversion but not the cleanliness of it. He will be focusing on creating clean front of the house diversion, teaching back of the house diversion, donating consumable extras and certifying businesses to promote and reward such changes.
