COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - The national recycling rate sits at about 30% whereas Colorado’s rate is only at 16%. Hoping to reach a 45% recycling rate by 2036, officials are working on a statewide recycling program.

“This program will bring free recycling at the household level to everybody in Colorado. It will have a consistent list of materials that can be recycled statewide. This will save communities money since the funding will cover recycling programs whether it’s by local governments or for private businesses,” explained Wolf Kray, Materials Management Unit Leader for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The Circular Action Alliance is in charge of developing the convient, cost-effect program, appointed by the Producer Responsibility Organization.

“The Producer Responsibility Organization is a group that was designated by our department and was required based on a law that was passed this past year that require producers to basically create a new funding mechanism that will cover the cost of recycling throughout the state of Colorado,” said Kray adding that it will be several years until the new plan rolls out. “We have a lot of work to do between now and then. In 2023 and 2024, we’ll be doing a statewide needs assessment, to get a better idea of where we are with our infrastructure across the state, and then once we have that information in 2025, they’ll put together a program plan to identify and implement on how we can implement and increase access to recycling.”

The program is set to go into effect in 2026.