There’s nowhere to go but up for Colorado’s recycling rate. Fortunately, a new program, supported by a diverse coalition of communities from both rural and urban areas, will give our state the boost it needs to finally become a recycling leader.
At 16%, we in Colorado recycle less than half the national average. The biggest reason for this embarrassingly low rate is that many Coloradans, especially those living in apartments and rural areas, don’t have easy access to recycling services or have to pay extra to get it. And those trying to do the right thing are often understandably frustrated by recycling guidelines that differ from one community to the next. For all these reasons, an annual report by Eco-Cycle and the Colorado Public Interest Research Group found that Coloradans landfill some six million tons of recyclable materials every year.
Burying recyclable materials in the ground is a huge waste — for the planet and the economy. Not only do landfills create planet-warming methane gases, but the amount of recyclable cans, bottles, boxes, and paper landfilled every year in Colorado is worth an estimated $100 million in market value.
This discarded aluminum, steel, plastic, paper and cardboard should instead be turned into feedstock for remanufacturing new products and packaging, saving natural resources and millions of dollars in the process.
But there is hope on the horizon. Colorado’s newly adopted “Producer Responsibility” policy — only the third of its kind in the nation — will soon provide recycling services to all Coloradans at no additional cost to them. Whether you live in a rural town or a downtown apartment building, you will have access to automatic recycling services as convenient as your trash service. And we will have a standardized list of materials that can be recycled everywhere across the state.
This program will also minimize, if not eliminate, recycling costs for packaging materials paid by local governments and taxpayers. Every community will gain access to new or expanded services and educational programs without having to allocate funds. An estimated 700,000 households will receive new curbside recycling services, while households already receiving curbside recycling will no longer be directly billed for it.
Residents in rural areas will gain access to expanded recycling through curbside service or drop-off centers, also at no cost.
This new Producer Responsibility program will be funded by a small fee on packaging materials (e.g., bottles, jars, boxes) paid by the consumer brands or producers (e.g., Coca-Cola and Pepsi) who sell products in Colorado. The fee will vary by the environmental footprint of the packaging, giving producers a direct incentive to use packaging for their products that is recyclable and contains more recycled content.
Decades of successful producer responsibility programs in Canada and Europe show that the costs to Coloradans will be fractions of a penny per unit of packaging, a finding confirmed by a recent study done for Colorado.
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In short, Producer Responsibility will deliver significant benefits without negatively impacting our wallets, and it will save money that residents and communities currently pay for recycling services. Enabling Colorado residents and visitors to recycle more aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic, cardboard, and paper will also benefit businesses by ensuring a more resilient domestic supply of recycled materials for manufacturing new products.
As the president of Colorado Communities for Climate Action and the executive director of The Colorado Municipal League, we are excited for this program to begin.
State leaders should make haste in fully approving and implementing it. It is time for Colorado to finally become a national recycling leader–for the good of our communities, our environment, and our economy.
Katherine Goff is president of Colorado Communities for Climate Action, a coalition of 42 local governments advocating for stronger state and federal climate policy. Kevin Bommer is executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents the interests of Colorado’s 271 cities and towns.
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