Snack & Shares

Presenter: Susan Renaud
Learn more about the Circular Economy Development Center and Circular Transportation Network, a new program designed by the CEDC, to pick up recyclable materials for free from rural and mountainous areas that experience barriers to recycling. Hear updates on the launch of the program and how businesses and communities state-wide may be able to access free plastic film collection.

• Email Susan to get involved and learn more: susan@circularcolorado.org
• Visit the CEDC Website: https://coloradocedc.org/
• Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/6LqdccTm0F0?si=pOwPATTf3uQGatwu

Presenter: Jeremey Norris

"WPS" is a U.S based company focused on providing sustainable full-service solutions for recycling wind energy assets. WPS has been in business on 2 years in business and has successfully recycled 2500+ Wind Turbine blades. They are on target to open the first recycling facility in May of 2025. Services include: Tower Demolition (Felling), E-Waste (Fluids) Recycling, Blade Removal, Blade Cutting, Blade Processing, Blade Recycling, Transportation, and Land Remediation.

• Email Jeremy Norris to get involved and learn more: jnorris@windpower-solutions.com 
• Visit the Wind Power Solutions Website: https://windpower-solutions.com/
• Watch the Recording: https://youtu.be/5uU8BJWBAyQ?si=QplcvyxMhL-OTj03

Our members are our biggest supporters. You have stuck with us over the years, supported our initiatives, attended our events, volunteered your time...it's time we give it back! Come party with us on the mountain for our member après-ciation day at Arapahoe Basin.

We hopped offline for our May Snack & Share and met at Perks Deconstruction for a Planter Box Create Date in Commerce City. Perks Deconstruction let us use their space and reclaimed materials to create and decorate our own planter boxes.

For our June Snack & Share we met at Compost Colorado's new facility for part two of our "Create Dates" to use local compost to plant flowers and herbs in our plant boxes we created in May. Compost Colorado gave us a tour of their brand new facility and told us a bit about their operations.

Are you considering adding organic waste diversion to your sustainability or waste management efforts, but are unsure where to begin? During this informative webinar you'll learn about Colorado's latest tools and real-world success stories in organic waste diversion.

Jace Driver with the State of Colorado introduced the Organics Diversion Infrastructure Development Toolkit, which is a comprehensive resource covering everything from collections and processing to policy guidance, as well as the environmental and economic benefits of keeping organic waste out of landfills.

Julie Mach from Elements Mountain Compost shared how she launched and grew a compost business in rural Colorado.

Liz Mauro, with the City of Glenwood Springs, shared how they have found success diverting organic waste away from their South Canyon Landfill.

• Statewide Organics Management Plan and Toolkit: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/hm/statewide-organics-mgmt-plan
• Watch the Recording: https://youtu.be/KCa6qYfpFyg?si=XPZVy3B6v_e_WF8j

• Watch the recording: https://youtu.be/jaCxeBP1xNo?si=1_-ReIm3eM7N6fni
• Circular Action Alliance Colorado website: https://circularactionalliance.org/circular-action-alliance-colorado

Bars, restaurants, and event/hospitality venues are the biggest users of glass bottles and jars. If commercial recycling isn't available, too many of these bottles end up in Colorado landfills. The Greater Denver area has been participating in a circular glass recycling program that turns used bottles into new ones within a 60-mile radius. Discover the Don't Trash Glass program and learn how the circular demand for recycled glass (cullet) is a game-changer for the state. 

Takeaways

• Learn scalable opportunities for glass collection
• Discover circular end markets for glass
• Hear about the difference glass diversion can make for heavy glass users

Resources

• Email Rebecca is you have any additional questions: RThomas@gpi.org
• Watch the Recording: https://youtu.be/nfF8g4MGOdk?si=k9r3_eWPhmfzZmPL
• Don't Trash Glass website: https://www.gpi.org/dont-trash-glass
• Glass Packaging Institute website: https://www.gpi.org/

We hopped offline for our October Snack & Share and met at Source Zero in Berthoud for a tour of their refill shop. Source Zero is a refill bar where customers can bring their own containers to fill up on household, hair, beauty & body products, reducing packaging. Grab your containers and explore Nikole Bari's shop for something new for your pantry or self care routine!

• The Source Zero Website: https://thesourcezeronoco.com/

We will be hopping offline for our December 4th Snack & Share and meeting at Farm to Summit in Durango for a tour of their low-waste backpacking meal packaging facility.

Farm to Summit was born in 2022, thanks to the combined passions of Louise Barton and Jane Barden. Louise, a research botanist and dedicated conservationist, spent over a decade working in some of the world’s most remote wilderness areas. As an avid backpacker—sometimes trekking for weeks at a time—she constantly struggled with one thing: food. The available backpacking meals just didn’t cut it. So, she set out to change that, creating lightweight, instant meals that are packed with flavor, loaded with nutrition, and kind to the ecosystems she loves. Jane grew up on her family’s third-generation produce farm, where she saw firsthand how much food goes to waste just because it doesn’t look perfect. Rows of unharvested veggies and tractor loads of "flawed" produce getting tossed were just part of the norm. She knew there had to be a better way—so she introduced the idea of using seconds produce, turning what was once considered waste into something delicious and sustainable.

Please RSVP for the tour in Durango so we know how many people we can expect: https://forms.gle/ZEDNexnGRuzPvmbu9