The state remains stuck at 16% reuse, only half the national average, but new laws on plastic bags and Styrofoam containers may boost efforts
landfill
Posted inEnvironment
Why a Colorado mattress recycler sends old mattresses to the landfill
Spring Back Colorado, the Commerce City nonprofit, is desperately trying to figure out how to recycle pocket-coil mattresses affordably. It’s a challenge for the entire industry, even in states with mattress recycling laws.
Posted inEnvironment
What’s Working: Where to get rid of hard-to-toss items in Colorado — and also benefit society
From old couches and mattresses to baby gear, paint and contact lenses, these Colorado organizations want your old stuff to help the planet, consumers and an underused workforce.
Posted inEconomy
Here’s how you can help those most in need in Colorado by getting rid of your old stuff
A number of organizations collect stuff Coloradans no longer want. Here are a handful that turned it into a business that in turn helps folks who have trouble finding work.
Posted inEnvironment
Landfills leak climate-killing methane. What is Colorado doing about it?
Gas from dumps is more potent than carbon dioxide, a new report shows. Some Colorado landfills convert methane to electricity.
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Yes, we can help reduce greenhouse gases
It was a freakishly warm and very windy day. Driving back from Dillon on Highway 93, it was difficult to keep the car on the road. Debris such as plastic swimming pools and construction materials blew across the road, making it challenging to keep the car on the highway. As we neared Boulder, the road […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Denver Council should approve proposed trash and composting program
Most of us have plenty to think about besides the impact our trash has on our local environment after we take it to the curb. But the urgency of climate change has been harder to ignore: The growing number of days over 100 degrees. The drought impacting our treasured mountain snowpack. The heat impacting our […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News
Colorado has a dismal recycling rate. Could a fee on manufacturers turn things around?
In Boulder, where every resident automatically receives access to recycling and composting services, more than half of the city’s waste is diverted from landfills. But in many Colorado cities and towns, residents who want to recycle must pay extra, or make a trip to recycling centers. The discrepancy between the relative ease of recycling in […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, News, Politics and Government
How bad are Coloradans at recycling? Chaffee County contractor closed its free sites over bad actors, slim profits
Angel of Shavano Recycling spent 15 years sifting through Chaffee County’s trash collecting its treasures — plastics, cardboard, paper, newspaper, tin and aluminum. But slim profits and bad behavior by customers led the owner, Mickey Barry, to close the gates on the four free community recycling sites. “In the recycling industry the drop sites have […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Why Colorado needs to take notes on recycling from abroad
With all of its 14ers, national parks and ecotourism, Colorado culture is often viewed as one of environmental stewardship that protects the natural wonders that characterize our state. However, our statewide recycling rate (the percentage of total waste generated that was recycled) was an unfortunate 17.2% in 2018 and a more depressing 15.9% in 2019. […]