SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): As Colorado releases its recycling data from 2024, the state anticipates that regulatory changes taking effect next year could lead to higher diversion rates in the future.
The recently released recycling and composting report from Eco-Cycle and CoPirg Foundation noted that Colorado made “significant advances” in recycling and organics efforts in 2024, mainly through successes and breakthroughs at the local level.
The annual report also highlights how coordinated statewide advancements are expected to significantly boost the state’s overall diversion rate. Colorado’s upcoming extended producer responsibility law for packaging, as well as new battery stewardship and right to repair laws, will go into effect in coming years.
These programs are also expected to support existing, successful local recycling and organics programs, according to the report.
Colorado’s statewide waste diversion rate was 15.7% in 2024, about flat compared to the previous year. One contributing factor is that “Colorado doesn’t really have a top-down recycling system. There’s no mandate, for even waste diversion plans at the community level,” said Rachel Setzke, senior policy advisor at Eco-Cycle and a report author.
Some cities have enacted recent diversion plans that contributed to regional progress, according to the report. In 2024, the city of Longmont logged a commercial waste diversion rate increase from 35% to 59% after implementing its universal recycling ordinance. In Boulder, a deconstruction ordinance that went into effect in 2020 has led to the diversion of about 76% of all materials from buildings taken down within city limits.
The report also notes key successes from organics diversion programs. Across the state, these programs diverted 50% more woody material from disposal compared to previous year, collecting 375,000 tons in 2024, the report states. Fire prevention measures were one driver of that increase.
Residential organics programs in places like Denver and Aspen also showed progress. Denver’s program increased organics diversion by 55% in 2024, due in part to expanded service plans that now cover 75,000 homes.
Aspen launched a new organic waste ordinance in 2023 that requires food establishments to have an organics hauler. The program diverted 2,600 tons in 2024, a 350% increase from the prior year, according to the report. Aspen’s phased program expands in 2026 to require multifamily buildings and commercial properties to offer access to organics collection. In 2028, the ordinance will require organics diversion citywide.
Courtesy: www.wastedive.com
