The Town of Vail’s biannual Hard to Recycle event will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 14, at the Ford Park parking lot.
The event set for November of 2020 was canceled due to increased cases of COVID-19. The spring event will be held in compliance with all public health guidelines. As such, participants will be asked to practice social distancing when possible and wear a face covering when interacting with the staff and vendors.
The Hard to Recycle event will collect electronic waste and household hazardous waste and will offer paper shredding services. Yard waste will also be collected at the event this year.
The current national recycling rate is 35% while Colorado has a 15.9% recycling rate and Eagle County has a recycling rate of 28%. Vail in 2020 achieved a 29% recycling rate. At the previous Hard to Recycle event in 2020, Vail was able to recycle over 16 tons of otherwise hard to recycle materials, making a large contribution to the total.
Recycling is one of the easiest opportunities to save energy to make a positive impact in the community and world. The town’s recycling event is free for residents, property owners and those who work in Vail. Charges may apply for excessive volumes. No commercial collections will be accepted.
Electronics will be recycled with Blue Star Recyclers based in Denver, an E-Steward certified electronic waste recycler. Household hazardous waste, including batteries, paint and paint related products, lawn and garden products including fertilizers and weed killers, household cleaning products, and motor oil and antifreeze, will be collected by Veolia, a firm based in Henderson.
Paper will be shredded by Alliance Moving of Gypsum and then recycled at the Eagle County Materials Recovery Facility. Yard waste will be taken to the Vail Honeywagon Organics commercial compost facility where it will become compost.
This event is funded by fees from the “kick the bag habit” program in which a 10 cents per bag fee is collected by the two major grocery stores in Vail for customers who choose to opt out of reusable bags.
It is currently illegal in the state of Colorado to dispose of electronics with your regular trash. This event provides an opportunity for residents and employees of Vail to responsibly dispose of this type of waste free of charge.
In addition, while the organized town-wide community cleanup and big item pickup are canceled due to public health concerns, the town is encouraging residents to get outside and clean up their neighborhoods while practicing social distance. Residents can dispose of collected trash in dumpsters provided by the town for this alternative cleanup effort from May 13-20 or until they are full, whichever comes first.
The dumpsters will be located at the North Trail trailhead parking lot in West Vail at the west end of the North Frontage Road, the Ford Park parking lot and the East Vail interchange parking area at Interstate 70 exit 180.
For more information, contact Vail Environmental Sustainability Coordinator Beth Markham at 970-479-2333 or bmarkham@vailgov.com
