Loading
  • GET INVOLVED
  • CONTACT
  • DONATE
  • Play our recycling sorting game!
  • ABOUT US

    • Our Mission
      • Our Mission, Vision & Theory of Change
      • Our History
      • Alliance of Mission-Based Recyclers (AMBR)

    • Our Work
      • Social Enterprise
      • Annual Reports
      • Media Center

    • Our People
      • Board of Directors
      • Career Opportunities
      • Volunteer with Us

    • Our Policies
      • Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Mandate
      • Privacy Policy
  • LEARN ABOUT ZERO WASTE

    • Zero Waste 101
      • What Is Zero Waste?
      • What Is Producer Responsibility?
      • Resource Library

    • Zero Waste and Climate
      • Zero Waste Is a Climate Change Solution
      • Why Zero Waste Is Often Left Out of Climate Action Plans

    • Zero Waste Benefits People
      • Zero Waste & Social Justice
      • Jobs & Economic Benefits of Zero Waste

    • Zero Waste Benefits the Planet
      • Pollution & Public Health
      • Zero Waste & Resource Conservation
  • SERVICES & FACILITIES

    • Eco-Cycle Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM)
      • CHaRM Fees
      • What We Accept at CHaRM

    • Boulder County Recycling Center
      • Recycling at the BCRC Video
      • FAQs About Recycling in Boulder County
      • What to Recycle in Your Curbside Bin

    • Zero Waste Facilities in Boulder County
      • Tour de Thrift Map
      • Hazardous Materials Management Facility

    • Zero Waste Hauling & Consulting
      • Zero Waste Hauling
      • Zero Waste Consulting
      • Zero Waste Event Services
  • OUR PROGRAMS

    • Reducing Plastics
      • The Global Plastics Crisis
      • Eliminating Problematic Plastics
      • Better Recycling Starts with Better Product Design
      • Producer Responsibility to Reduce Plastics
      • Campaigns & Policies to Reduce Plastics
      • The Problem with Microplastics

    • Composting and Carbon Farming
      • Building a Circular Compost System
      • What Is Carbon Farming?
      • Carbon Farming in Boulder County
      • Microbe Brew Compost Tea
      • What Is Biochar?
      • State & National Efforts

    • Zero Waste Colorado
      • The State of Recycling & Composting in Colorado
      • Statewide Legislative Campaigns
      • Community Legislative Campaigns
      • The Zero Waste Denver Campaign
      • Implementing the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act
        • Bag Fees Guide for Municipalities
        • Bag Fees Guide for Businesses
        • Bag Fees Guide for Communities

    • Creating a Model Zero Waste Community in Boulder County
      • Zero Waste Policies
      • Zero Waste Programs
        • School Programs
        • Eco-Leader Volunteer Network
        • Event Services
  • ECO-LIVING

    • Refuse and Reduce
      • Why Reduce?
      • Reducing Waste Starts at Home
      • How to Stop Junk Mail
      • Reduce Your Plastic Use
      • How to Reduce Food Waste
      • Be Straw Free

    • Reuse, Repair, and Share
      • Reusables as a Solution to Single-Use Disposables
      • Repair Resources
      • Reuse and Share Portal
      • Tour de Thrift
      • Zero Waste Holiday Guide

    • Recycling 101
      • Why Recycle?
      • Recycling Myths
      • The Truth About Plastics Recycling
      • Household Hazardous Waste

    • Composting 101
      • Why Compost?
      • How to Compost in Your Backyard
      • Curbside Composting
      • Composting with Worms
      • Winter Composting
  • GUIDES & RESOURCES

    • Guides for Boulder County
      • Recycling Guide
      • Composting Guide
        • Changing Compost Guidelines
        • FAQs About New Compost Guidelines
        • Clean Compost Campaign Toolkit
      • Reuse Guide
      • Repair Guide
      • Hazardous Waste Guide

    • Research and Reports
      • State of Recycling in Colorado 2022 Report
      • Composting in Denver Report
      • AMBR Chemical Recycling Report
      • Microplastics in Compost Report
      • More Reports

    • Resource Library
      • Guidelines
      • Videos
      • Toolkits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Presentations

    • Popular Tools
      • Recycling Sorting Game
      • The Eco-Cycle Guide
      • How to Stop Junk Mail
      • Zero Waste Schools Activity Guide
      • Zero Waste Holiday Guide
      • PPRA Toolkit
      • Clean Compost Campaign Toolkit

Why Recycle?

Recycling is an essential part of a sustainable, Zero Waste future.

Why Recycle?

Recycling is an essential part of a sustainable, Zero Waste future.

Why Recycle?

Recycling is an essential part of a sustainable, Zero Waste future.

Recycling 101

  • Recycling Myths
  • The Truth About Plastics Recycling
  • Household Hazardous Waste

Recycling: Just do it!​

Recycling products such as bottles, cans, and paper has been possible for decades in the US, but we still have a long way to go to fully utilize the potential and value of recycling programs. Nationally, we recycle only 32% of what we discard. State numbers are even worse: Colorado’s recycling rate currently stands at a mere 16%. For the sake of the economy, our natural resources, the climate, and future generations, we must do better.

Why should we all be recycling?

Recycling is one of the easiest actions we can take to work toward a sustainable future and to generate big environmental benefits. When you recycle as much as you can (after you refuse, reduce, and reuse, of course), you contribute to a cyclical economy that supports green jobs, prevents pollution, saves energy, combats climate change, and lessens our dependence on natural resources like trees, natural gas, and petroleum.

  • Locals: See our Boulder County recycling guide for our A–Z Recycling Guide, recycling posters, recycling services, maps to drop-off centers, and more.
  • Live outside Boulder County? Use earth911.com to see where to recycle just about anything near you.
  • Spreading the good word on recycling? See all of our recycling resources in our Resource Library.

The Value of Recycling

If you’ve seen headlines such as the New York Times article “As Costs Skyrocket, More U.S. Cities Stop Recycling,” you may be wondering if recycling is still worth it. 

Yes, it is! Recycling is and always will be a critical component of a more sustainable, circular economy. While it should never be considered the singular solution to the world’s waste problems, recycling is crucial to maximizing natural resources, saving water and energy, and creating more resilient communities. 

When you recycle, you . . .

Save (a lot) of energy.

By adopting Zero Waste strategies, including recycling, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 400 million metric tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking more than 20% of US coal-fired power plants off the grid.

Manufacturing products from recycled materials saves 30–90% of the energy needed to manufacture these products from natural resources without requiring additional extraction of trees, fossil fuels, or metal ores.

Reduce demand for new resources.

Recycling extends the lifespan of materials, reducing pressure on our environment and finite natural resources. For example, aluminum cans and glass bottles can be recycled indefinitely! If we recycle 100% of these materials, it would greatly alleviate the need to go back to extract more bauxite ore or silica from the planet.

Save water.

Manufacturing from recycled materials saves water. For example, producing paper from virgin pulp creates the largest industrial demand for water per ton of product in the US. Recycling one ton of paper saves 7,000 gallons of water.

Stop burying valuable resources.

We bury or burn more than two-thirds of our waste every day in the US, destroying the value of these materials. Colorado throws away nearly $100 million worth of recyclable material each year, such as aluminum, cardboard, paper, glass, and plastics.

Create more jobs.

Recycling creates an average of 9 times more jobs than landfilling. In the US, we could create 1.1 million new jobs by recycling 75% of our discards.

Related Resources

  • Resources

Guidelines Poster: Curbside Recycling

Video: La Serie de Zero Waste en Español – Por qué Reciclar?

Video: Zero Waste Video Series – Why Recycle?

Graphic: AMBR Plastic Recycling Infographic

See All Resources
Responsive Menu
  • ABOUT US
    ▼
    • Our Mission
      ▼
      • Our Vision & Theory of Change
      • Our History
      • AMBR
    • Our Work
      ▼
      • Social Enterprise
      • Annual Reports
      • Media Center
    • Our People
      ▼
      • Board of Directors
      • Career Opportunities
      • Volunteer with Us
    • Our Policies
      ▼
      • JEDI Mandate
      • Privacy Policy
  • LEARN ABOUT ZERO WASTE
    ▼
    • Zero Waste 101
      ▼
      • What Is Zero Waste?
      • What Is Producer Responsibility?
      • Resource Library
    • Zero Waste and Climate
      ▼
      • A Climate Change Solution
      • Left Out of Climate Action Plans
    • Zero Waste Benefits People
      ▼
      • Zero Waste & Social Justice
      • Jobs & Economic Benefits
    • Zero Waste Benefits the Planet
      ▼
      • Pollution & Public Health
      • Resource Conservation
  • SERVICES AND FACILITIES
    ▼
    • Eco-Cycle CHaRM Facility
      ▼
      • CHaRM Fees
      • What We Accept
    • Boulder County Recycling Center
    • Other Zero Waste Facilities
    • Zero Waste Hauling & Consulting
  • OUR PROGRAMS
    ▼
    • Reducing Plastics
      ▼
      • The Global Plastics Crisis
      • Eliminating Problematic Plastics
      • Better Product Design
      • Plastics Producer Responsibility
      • Campaigns & Policies
      • The Problem with Microplastics
    • Composting & Carbon Farming
      ▼
      • A Circular Compost System
      • What Is Carbon Farming?
      • Carbon Farming in BoCo
      • Microbe Brew Compost Tea
      • What Is Biochar?
      • State & National Efforts
    • Zero Waste Colorado
      ▼
      • State of Recycling & Composting
      • Statewide Campaigns
      • Community Campaigns
      • Zero Waste Denver Campaign
      • Implementing the PPRA
        ▼
        • For Municipalities
        • For Businesses
        • For Communities
    • Boulder County Zero Waste Model
      ▼
      • Zero Waste Policies
      • Zero Waste Programs
        ▼
        • Schools Programs Overview
        • Eco-Leader Volunteer Network
        • Event Services
  • ECO-LIVING
    ▼
    • Refuse & Reduce
      ▼
      • Why Reduce?
      • Reducing Waste Starts at Home
      • How to Stop Junk Mail
      • Reduce Your Plastic Use
      • How to Reduce Food Waste
      • Be Straw Free
    • Reuse, Repair & Share
      ▼
      • Reusables as a Solution
      • Repair Resources
      • Reuse and Share Portal
      • Tour de Thrift
      • Zero Waste Holiday Guide
    • Recycling 101
      ▼
      • Why Recycle?
      • The Truth About Plastics Recycling
      • Recycling Myths
      • Household Hazardous Waste
    • Composting 101
      ▼
      • Why Compost?
      • Backyard Composting
      • Curbside Composting
      • Composting with Worms
      • Winter Composting
  • GUIDES & RESOURCES
    ▼
    • Guides for Boulder County
      ▼
      • Recycling Guide
      • Composting Guide
        ▼
        • Changing Compost Guidelines
        • Compost Guidelines FAQs
        • Clean Compost Toolkit
      • Reuse Guide
      • Repair Guide
      • Hazardous Waste Guide
    • Research and Reports
      ▼
      • 2022 SoRC Report
      • Composting in Denver Report
      • Chemical Recycling Report
      • Microplastics in Compost
      • More Reports
    • Resource Library
      ▼
      • Guidelines
      • Videos
      • Toolkits
      • Fact Sheets
    • Popular Tools
      ▼
      • Recycling Sorting Game
      • The Eco-Cycle Guide
      • How to Stop Junk Mail
      • ZW Schools Activity Guide
      • PPRA Toolkit
      • Clean Compost Toolkit
  • GET INVOLVED
    ▼
    • Volunteer with Us
    • Eco-Leader Volunteer Network
    • Eco-Leader Events Calendar
    • Subscribe
  • CONTACT US
  • DONATE
  • FOLLOW US

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

A-Z RECYCLING GUIDE


  • PLAY OUR RECYCLING SORTING GAME
  • RESOURCE LIBRARY
  • MEDIA CENTER
  • CONTACT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 19006
Boulder, CO 80308

Office & CHaRM Address:
6400 Arapahoe Rd.
Boulder, CO 80303

Recycle Hotline:
303.444.6634