It’s Kuhl To Recycle: Building Up

Thanks To Voters, Denver Contractors Must Now Recycle And Reuse

By Mark Kuhl

For the GPHN

Dumpsters frequently come and go in our neighborhood — indeed throughout Denver — and they carry away lots of perfectly recyclable materials.

Currently nearly half of what gets hauled to the city landfill is construction materials.

Last November Denver voters passed the Waste No More ballot initiative to address this environmental insult of tossing valuable materials in the landfill. Starting this month contractors must submit a “recycling and reuse” plan to the city prior to obtaining a commercial or residential permit for construction or demolition.

Materials that must be separated and recycled include concrete, asphalt, clean wood, scrap metal, and corrugated cardboard.

Mark Kuhl is an environmental advocate who lives in Park Hill with his family. His handy tips and news about recycling household items appear every month in these pages. A directory of his past columns for recycling everything from paint to Styrofoam to shoes is at greaterparkhill.org/sustainability/recycling-directory/.