Zero Waste Colorado: Building Colorado's New Recycling Economy

>> Read our new report: The State of Recycling in Colorado, 2017

Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG launched the first-ever statewide survey of recycling rates to compare Front Range cities and mountain/rural areas. See how your city compares and our five recommendations on how to move Colorado forward faster on recycling.

Colorado is one of the most wasteful states in the nation, recycling only 12 percent of its waste compared to 34 percent nationwide. 

We can do better!  Boosting recycling and composting rates will be a boon to local economics and yield big environmental benefits.

Other states have already done it. It’s time for Colorado to lead again.

Across the state, communities are ready to move forward, but they need funding, infrastructure, technical support, and new policies to pave the way. Zero Waste Colorado is working to help communities, businesses, institutions and nonprofits recycle more.

How do Colorado cities compare when it comes to recycling?

Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG launched the first-ever statewide survey of recycling rates to compare Front Range cities and mountain/rural areas. See how your city compares and our five recommendations on how to move Colorado forward faster on recycling.

Read The 2017 State of Recycling in Colorado report >> 

Join us in building Colorado’s new recycling economy!

Why Zero Waste?

Zero Waste drives quality job growth in Colorado. Instead of burying valuable resources—such as cardboard, metals, and food waste—in landfills, we can recycle and re-purpose these materials to strengthen local Colorado economies.

Our recycling, reuse and re-manufacturing industries currently provide nearly 86,000 jobs in Colorado and generate $8.7 billion in economic benefits each year. 

The potential to create even more jobs is tremendous—recycling creates at least 9 times more jobs per ton of waste than landfills. From Michigan to North Carolina, states are investing in Zero Waste as a shovel-ready economic development strategy.

Zero Waste is a fast and cost-effective climate action strategy.

According to the EPA, 42 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from how we produce, transport, use and dispose of our stuff and our food. California, Massachusetts, and many other states have already invested in Zero Waste strategies to reduce their climate impacts through programs and policies with proven effectiveness.

The time has come to invest significant resources in Zero Waste practices—reducing waste, reusing consumer and commercial goods and promoting recycling and composting.