Eco-Cycle Celebrates 50 Years: Honoring the Past and Building the Future

What a party! On June 5, 2026, more than 435 supporters, partners, volunteers, and friends gathered at the Limelight Hotel to celebrate Eco-Cycle’s Golden Anniversary and the community that has made our work possible.

From shared stories and heartfelt reunions to extraordinary generosity, Eco-Cycle’s 50th Anniversary Celebration on June 5, 2026, was a powerful reminder of what can happen when people come together around a shared vision. The evening marked the biggest event in the organization’s history, and that’s saying a lot! We are deeply grateful to everyone who attended or contributed to making the celebration happen.

We were truly honored to have the occasion recognized by Congressman Joe Neguse, who brought the official proclamation he’d entered into the US Congressional Record just two days earlier.

“The story of Eco-Cycle is an example for us all, that even small changes made by a few dedicated people can have astonishing results for entire communities. I am honored to represent this storied organization in Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District, and I thank the staff and volunteers at Eco-Cycle who do this important work every day. I congratulate them on 50 years.”

–Congressman Joe Neguse

Over the past five decades, Eco-Cycle has been at the vanguard of true systems change—starting a recycling revolution, a composting crusade, a Zero Waste movement, and now a new world where product brands are held responsible for the waste they create. Our success is rooted in the partnerships we hold within our community. Our anniversary celebration honored that history while looking ahead to the work to come.

To everyone who attended, sponsored, volunteered, donated, bid in the auction, and raised a paddle: THANK YOU for being part of this milestone moment!

We captured some wonderful moments throughout the evening—from rockin’ retro looks (you all looked very groovy!) and inspiring speeches to laughter, dancing, and reconnecting with old friends.

Together We Raised More Than $100,000

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our community, we raised more than $100,000 in one evening to support Eco-Cycle’s mission of building a climate-resilient future. 

This support helps Eco-Cycle reach thousands of students each year, provide hands-on recycling and composting education, develop new models for community composting, and advocate for policies that replace the current “take, make, waste” system with one that is more circular. 

50 Years of Impact

“We had a vision, but we were also just inventing it as we went along.”

– Pete Grogan, Eco-Cycle co-founder and first executive director, 1976–1987 

Eco-Cycle began in 1976 when a small group of Boulder residents decided not to wait for someone else to solve the growing waste problem. Armed with retired school buses and a lot of determination, they launched one of the nation’s earliest community recycling efforts.

What started as a grassroots volunteer project grew into Colorado’s first curbside recycling program and helped lay the foundation for recycling and composting systems that serve communities across the state today.

The Next 50 Years

“In our first 50 years, Eco-Cycle laid the foundation with Zero Waste infrastructure, policies, and programs. We are poised to continue this work and make even greater systems change.”

—Suzanne Jones, executive director, 2014–present

Today’s challenges are bigger and more complex than ever—from plastic pollution and landfill methane emissions to designing products and packaging for a circular economy.

Eco-Cycle is helping create solutions that address these challenges at their source. One example is Producer Responsibility legislation, which will expand access to recycling across Colorado while holding producers accountable for funding systems to recycle the packaging they create.

While individual actions matter, lasting change that truly protects the health of our people and planet requires a shift in both systems and culture.

Help Us Write the Next Chapter

“Ten years from now the world could be a very different and better place, depending on what we’re doing today.”

–Eric Lombardi, former Executive Director, 1989–2014

For 50 years, Eco-Cycle has worked alongside residents, businesses, schools, local governments, farmers, and community partners to create practical solutions to complex environmental challenges. Together, we’re building a future where natural resources are conserved, waste and toxic pollution are reduced, and communities thrive.

Whether you’re new to Eco-Cycle or have been part of our journey for decades, there are many ways to get involved:

Together, we can build the next 50 years of environmental leadership and systems change! Thank you to our sponsors who made this event possible:

Categories

Related Posts