Recycling Basics

Colorado is on an end market island. States closer to US coast lines have greater access to water and rail transportation routes and end markets. With Colorado being located in the middle of the US, it makes access to end markets limited and transportation costs high.

Colorado has its own unique natural geographic barriers. The great Rocky Mountains offer amazing opportunities for views and recreation, but make the transportation or recycled materials and set up of waste diversion and manufacturing facilities difficult. Most recycling centers are able to be set up in the Front Range of Colorado where space and costs are not as much of a barrier. However, this leaves the burden of transportation costs on our mountain communities. If you've driven on I-70 during ski season, you know it can really hamper your transportation time and efficiency.

In 2024, 15.7% of the municipal waste stream was recycled or composted in Colorado; the rate for the rest of the nation was about 35%. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, we landfill $100 million worth of recyclable materials from packaging every year. Part of the reason for this low recycling rate is that Coloradans do not have equal access to recycling.

While it may seem discouraging, there is hope...

In 2022, Colorado passed its landmark Producer Responsibility for Packaging and Paper bill (HB22-1355). Producer Responsibility requires producers to join a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO), and through the PRO, fund and manage the collection, processing, and recycling or composting for packaging and paper products. Once fully implemented, the Program will expand access to convenient recycling services for Colorado households, particularly those in underserved areas.

So, we're working on it!

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.

What things can be recycled is dependent on location in the state and the company you contract through for services.

Location

Recycling can be regionally dependent upon the access your community or state has to recycling facilities or material recovery facilities (MRF), transfer stations, ports, and rail lines. Natural resources and geography also play a factor. The closer you are or the easier path is for trucks to drop off materials to a MRF or transfer station, the lower the cost of recycling is. Keeping recycling costs low, increases the economic incentive to recycle.

Most MRF's in Colorado are located on the Front Range where the bulk of Colorado's population and recyclable materials are generated. With enough rail access and minimal geographic barriers the Front Range, is easy for hauling companies to move and sell materials. Looking to the mountains you notice there are fewer MRF's. Decreased space for facilities and increased geographical obstacles make it more difficult for trucks to haul materials. Difficult, but not impossible! It's hard enough for Rocky Mountain enjoyers to get where they need in an optimal time. If you've sat on I-70 when the tunnel is closed, you know how long and dreadful those wait times can be. Imagine trying to deliver a product to be recycled or sold when your best route through the mountains includes multiple, unpredictable variables. It's not great for business. Some communities event avoid the tunnel altogether and send materials over the Western Slope to our neighbors in Utah!

However, your Mountain and Western Slope communities work hard to ensure your good deed does not go to waste (no pun intended). One of the most beautiful MRF's in the state is located on a mountain, overlooking the city of Keystone. It even includes composting and construction and demolition collection on site! The Western Slope is hoping to have a new MRF up and operating soon as well!

You can't compare Colorado's recycling options to other states as natural resources play an important role.

In Colorado, glass is CIRCULAR! That's right, the glass that you throw in your recycle bin is recycled in Colorado and made into a new bottle, over and over again. Colorado is lucky to have the Rocky Mountain Bottling Company that buys our recycled glass to be used to make new glass bottles. The bottles are sent to Molson Coors to be filled and sold right back to you!

Aluminum is another valuable material recycled in Colorado. Neighboring states that have smelting facilities buy our recycled aluminum and use it to make new products. Recycled aluminum can be recycled, sold, processed, and made into a new product and back on your grocery store's shelves in less than 60 days!

But what about things like cardboard and paper?

While glass and aluminum are easily recycled in Colorado or neighboring states, things like paper and cardboard are not. To recycle paper and cardboard, you need lots of water. Water is valuable and protected resource in southwestern states, whereas in more northern states, like Minnesota, water is abundant and so are paper mills where recycled paper and cardboard can be remade into new paper products.

Plastics are unique in how they are recycled and what they can be remade into. While states along either coastline are able to export their materials for recycling and manufacturing, Colorado doesn't have access to a port. We can sell and transport plastics but we have also started to get creative in Colorado are working on increasing the economic incentives of bringing recycled plastic manufacturers to Colorado. Learn more about this by visiting our plastic recycling page.

Single Hauler or Municipal vs Open Hauler: In Colorado, municipalities are set up as open hauling or single hauler, municipal systems. Most communities are under an open hauling system, allowing them to choose which hauling company, from their local options, they would prefer to utilize. Under a single hauler or municipal system, a community has chosen to contract with a single company for services or is funding their own services and fleet. While open hauling does allow for residents to have the freedom to customize and choose their service level, single hauler or municipal systems offer a cost logistical advantage to community members. Open hauling can also increase the environmental and traffic problems as multiple companies will be sending trucks into your community depending upon who you and your neighbors decide to contract with.

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.

The Fogg Behavior Model is a great illustration showing the complications around encouraging recycling and behavior change.

Three elements must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt. When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing.

For example, with recycling being our prompt, an individual or business will likely recycle if:

• It is easy to do
• An individual or business has motivation to do it

An individual or business will likely not recycle if:

• It is hard to do
• They are not motivated

With this model, it also explains the complexity of various situations. For example, is someone is motivated to recycle but it is hard to do, they will be less likely to recycle. The same is also true if an individual is not motivated to recycle even if recycling is made easy to do.

While recycling is perceived as a green or hippie program, it was actually initially encouraged as a way increase the collection of commodities like tin, rubber, steel and paper to help support the United States's efforts during World War II. At this time, resources were scarce and money was tight, so recycling was a way for the US to recover the valuable materials they needed without buying more.

In addition to recycling's environmental benefits, it plays a critical role in supplying raw materials for manufacturing new products and is essential to the manufacturing industry and economy. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recycling in the United States contributes approximately 700,000 jobs, $38 billion in wages and over $5 billion in tax revenues per year. A 2017 study in Texas found an overall economic benefit to the state’s economy of more than $3.3 billion from recycling municipal solid waste (MSW).

So, the next time someone says, recycling isn't worth it or it all goes to the landfill, you can tell them that by throwing everything in a landfill they are not supporting their local economy and are getting rid of valuable resources. It's like throwing your money in the trash!

Recycling services vary depending on where you are located. The best way to know what is recyclable in your area is to contact your waste hauler or your local government office for options in your area.

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.

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.