We will see you in Fort Collins for the 2024 Summit for Recycling
We look forward to seeing you June 3rd-5th at the Hilton in Fort Collins! The agenda will be continuously updated as we confirm our panels, speakers, and workshops. Follow us on social media (or check this page) to keep up with all the details. We hope you will join us!
2024 Summit for Recycling Agenda
June 3rd | June 4th | June 5th
Monday, June 3rd
1:00 pm - 5:30 pm | Policy Retreat | Breakout Room
Join the Policy Committee as they review the legislative activity in 2024 and strategize about what legislative efforts to support in 2025. This will be a interactive meeting with workshop time amongst the sectors.
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm | Welcome Reception | Main Ballroom
Come meet the attendees and exhibitors at our fun kickoff event before we dive into our conference sessions and workshops. Drinks and snacks and networking.
Tuesday, June 4th
8:00 am - 9:00 am | Breakfast | Main Ballroom
- Northern Colorado Council Meeting in Breakout Room 1
8:35 am - 10:00 am | Welcome and Keynote | Main Ballroom
CAA & Producer Responsibility
Celebrate the launch of the Producer Responsibility Program in Colorado with the leadership team from Circular Action Alliance (CAA). They will share updates to the Colorado program, progress in other states, and discuss the next steps in developing the program.
10:00 am - 10:15 am | Passing Period, Coffee, Exhibitor Showcase
10:15 am - 11:45 am | Breakout Sessions
Main Ballroom
Reuse Systems in Colorado
Amber Barbella, Ryan Call, Juri Freeman, Melissa Jung, Matthew Luisier, Becky Goyton, and Ashwin Ramdas
Join Eco-Cycle, Deliver Zero, r.world, Upstream, Diversion Designers, RRS and Denver’s office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency for a panel discussion on the future of reuse systems in Colorado and the role of waste reduction in resilient communities.
Breakout Room 1
Composting and Higher Education with Auraria
Rylee McCone and Robbie Tepperberg will present on the Compost Operations Project at the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC). They will describe how an urban educational campus is making organics diversion work and answer questions from the audience.
CIRC: Eco-product's Compost Contamination Mitigation Tool
Meghan Ibach & Christi Turner
Meghan Ibach from Eco-Products will share their new tool for reducing contamination in the organics stream, CIRC (Controls Intended to Reduce Contamination). This program is a scalable, “generator focused” contamination mitigation program. This open-source tool is designed to increase composter confidence by taking a systems approach to contamination prevention.
Breakout Room 2
Circular Economy Development Center workshop
Laurie Johnson will lead this session that will be combination of sharing what the Circular Economy Development Center (CEDC) has accomplished over its first year and participants engaging in what direction to pursue next.
11:45 am - 12:00 pm | Passing Period, Coffee, Exhibitor Showcase
12:00 pm - 12:55 pm | Lunch | Main Ballroom
This time is left open to allow attendees to continue conversations from sessions, make new connections, and engage with our extraordinary exhibitors.
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm | Breakout Sessions
Main Ballroom
Drop Off Recycling Centers…the Gateway Drug to Hard to Recycle Materials
Justin Stockdale
Eco-Cycle will discuss the innovative methods they are using and developing to recycle some of the most challenging materials such as textiles and more.
Breakout Room 1
Strategies for increasing the use of compost in Colorado
Jennifer Richarson from Mesa County and Clinton Sander from A1 Organics will share the benefits of using compost in Colorado for water retention, soil health, and stormwater management. They will share research results as well as practical approaches to ensuring Colorado compost is utilized in local soils.
Breakout Room 2
Bringing to life the second life of building material – Buildings Born Again
As part of the Construction and Deconstruction Councils’ continuing efforts, Emily Freeman from the City of Boulder will reveal how Boulder is capturing value in buildings. She will also invite other deconstruction specialists to share their techniques and challenges to ensure the usable material in buildings is used again.
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm | Tours
- Larimer County Solid Waste
- Colorado State University Sustainability Walking Tour
- Industrial Recycling
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Colorado Iron & Metal will provide an up-close peek on how to gather various metals for recycling at scales both large and small.
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IT Refresh will give attendees a detailed look at how they are able to provide responsible electronic waste recycling.
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Fort Collins’ Crushing Operations will allow attendees to witness how the city both saves money and benefits the environment through recycling concrete, dirt, asphalt, and rocks.
- Recycling & Composting
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Compost Queen will take us through the intricacies of providing organics collection and processing and applying compost to local farmland by walking us through her facility and recent equipment upgrades (made possible for CDPHE grants).
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Rocky Mountain Soil Stewardship specializes in vermicompost and converting horse manure into usable compost.
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Timberline Recycling Center will showcase a convenient way for the residents of Fort Collins to freely recycle traditional recyclables, as well pay a small fee for hard to recycle materials.
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm | Awards Dinner | CSU Student Center Theater
Join us in celebrating the many people working to reduce waste and increase recycling and composting across Colorado. There will be delicious food, networking, and dancing with DJ Drake!
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Wednesday, June 5th
8:30 am - 9:15 am | Breakfast | Main Ballroom
- Rural Recycling Policy Committee Meeting
9:20 - 10:30 a.m. | Welcome and Keynote | Main Ballroom
50 States of Recycling
Two groundbreaking reports have shed light on recycling across the United States. Dylan de Thomas from The Recycling Partnership and Megan Lane from Ball Corporation will compare and contrast the data from the 2024 State of Recycling and 50 States of Recycling 2.0 to see where recycling in Colorado is succeeding, where it is challenged, and ideas for improvement.
10:30 am - 10:40 am | Passing Period, Snacks & Coffee, Exhibitor Showcase
10:40 am - 12:10 pm | Breakout Sessions
Main Ballroom
Recycling Technology
This session begins with Carling Spelhaug from AMP Sortation will speak to some of the latest developments in MRF technology, such as addressing film contamination and flexible film recovery.
Then, experts from Matium will discuss how their inventive applications of software can increase materials recovered for recycling and make data reporting simple.
Breakout Room 1
Assessing and Interpreting Compost Quality
Shawn Bruckman & Lanny Ellis
Take a deep dive into the tools available for assessing the quality of your compost. We will help you interpret the reports for STA lab analysis and look at other field tests that you can do before sending your sample to the lab. This session will also include a live demonstration of direct observation microscopy. Composters are encouraged to bring a sample of compost in to look at under the microscope! We would love a sample of finished compost as well as unfinished compost so we can show you how to identify the difference.
Breakout Room 2
CDPHE Behavior Workshop
The Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) staff will conduct a workshop on behavior change techniques aimed at increasing recycling participation.
Ensuring Workforce Development for a Circular Economy
Currently in Colorado, there is strong support and resources for workforce development, especially in rural communities and in the clean energy transition. But what about the workforce for a circular economy, which also benefits rural communities and a lower carbon future? In this session, we will learn about statewide resources as well as specific workforce development by haulers and the Circular Economy Development Center. And we hope to spur a discussion on clean energy and the circular economy working together to support rural communities and job creation.
12:15 pm - 1:10 pm | Lunch
Statewide Funding Changes – CDPHE
The Waste Diversion leadership team of CDPHE is excited to talk about the new programs available across Colorado for funding waste diversion, aversion, recycling, and composting.
1:15 pm - 2:00 pm | Breakout Sessions
Main Ballroom
Circular Plastics
LyondellBassell is making their initial visit to the Summit to share how their advanced technology enables a circular and low carbon economy. They have structured their sustainability approach around three global challenges: ending plastic waste, taking climate action and supporting a thriving society.
Breakout Room 1
Plastic Recycling – How Far Can You Stretch It?
Reenee Casapulla from FoamCycle is leading a panel session to explore the impact of including plastic recycling at recycling drop-off centers. A group discussion will deep dive into how plastics collection can contribute to the circular economy of a local community, in providing access to recycling this valuable and reusable material.
Breakout Room 2
Building a Sustainable Workforce: Training Initiatives in Construction and Deconstruction
Jessmine Anderson, Shannon Goodman, Robb Sommerfeld, and Anna Perks
Learn from industry leaders about workforce training needs, addressing challenges, and collaborative efforts in construction and demolition. Explore how deconstruction offers entry-level opportunities and helps divert C&D waste from landfills. Join us for what promises to be an engaging and informative session.
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm | Tours
- Larimer County Solid Waste
- Visit the unique and playful Garbage Garage education center, marvel at the expansive diversion programs, and learn what the future is in store for the largest landfill in Northern Colorado.
- Colorado State University Sustainability Walking Tour
- Get outside as the tour visits varies programs on the Fort Collins CSU campus. The tour will start at the Surplus Property store and then continue by seeing how the organics capture and food rescue process works as part of the Dining Services operations. The group will walk across campus to see some examples of architectural sustainability in action and end at the geothermal site.
- Recycling and Composting
- IT Refresh will give attendees a detailed look at how they are able to provide responsible electronic waste recycling.
- Compost Queen will take us through the intricacies of providing organics collection and processing and applying compost to local farmland by walking us through her facility and recent equipment upgrades (made possible for CDPHE grants).
- Vindeket Foods will demonstrate how they rescue food from grocery stores, restaurants, and farms to reduce waste food.
- Timberline Recycling Center will showcase a convenient way for the residents of Fort Collins to freely recycle traditional recyclables, as well pay a small fee for hard to recycle materials.
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