We Can Do Better, Colorado
Recycling In Denver Hovers At 20%; Statewide at 16%
by Mark Kuhl
For the GPHN
The numbers aren’t in yet for the year of the pandemic but according to the Eco-Cycle 2020 State of Recycling and Composting report, in 2019 the Colorado recycling rate dropped to 15.9 percent from 17.2 percent the year before. This compares to the national recycling rate of 35 percent.
Coloradans sent over 6 million tons of municipal waste to landfill in 2019. Eco-Cycle estimated we on the Front Range average 6 pounds of trash per person per day. Let’s go Colorado – we can do much better!
The good news is that several cities including Loveland (60 percent), Boulder (51 percent), Lafayette, Louisville, and Longmont divert more from landfill than the national average of 35 percent. For comparison, Denver recycles around 20 percent, while San Francisco has topped 80 percent and Seattle is pushing 60 percent.
Mountain and rural areas have surpassed their goals and are producing less trash per person than the Front Range. Businesses and municipalities are expanding composting programs and a bill was adopted to bring more recycling businesses to the state. Additionally, the Front Range Waste Diversion Fund awarded over $2 million in its first round of grand funding to stimulate recycling and composting efforts.
Finally, you may have noticed petitioners seeking signatures for the proposed Waste No More ballot initiative which will require Denver businesses such as apartments, condos, and restaurants to provide compost and recycling for their patrons. This attention to recycling is good news for Colorado and mother Earth. But increasing our recycling rate mostly comes down to individual choices, so please pitch in to help get our numbers above the national average and beyond.
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/.