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Apply for Reuse Denver Incentives for Businesses - Solicite los incentivos de Reuse Denver para empresas

Attention retail food establishments! Denver’s new Reuse Denver program can help your small business save money, reduce waste and create a better customer experience!

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Eco-Cycle is proud to present their 7th Annual State of Recycling & Composting in Colorado Report

In 2020, Governor Polis declared the third week of November “Colorado Recycles Week,” and in celebration, Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG just released our 7th annual State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado Report that examines the progress made by the state and Colorado communities in recycling and composting. Despite a low recycling rate, Colorado is poised for significant breakthroughs in reducing waste!

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What do you do with an old hospital? In Boulder, you recycle it. The whole thing.

The City of Boulder’s first deconstruction project since its 2020 sustainability ordinance has single-handedly kept 60.8 million pounds out of the landfill. The deconstruction of the ex-hospital is the first of its kind in the United States. We are proud of the work by our member in the Construction & Deconstruction field. Read the article to learn more on how deconstruction and reuse can be possible even for large commercial buildings and projects! 

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National Survey of Over 1,000 U.S. Residents Provides Insight on Recycling Decisions

The Foodservice Packaging Institute released a summary of findings from its Resident Messaging Survey, sharing information related to resident assumptions on recyclability, awareness of what items can be recycled, and top sources of recycling instructions. The survey focused on recycling messaging related to items such as plastic cups and containers, paper cups and pizza boxes. Survey respondents indicated that the type of material plays a greater role than the form, such as a cup or box, in the decision to recycle an item. Read the full summary and register for the upcoming free webinar Insights into Effective Resident Education being held on December 5th.

White House Convening on Right to Repair

The President first named right to repair as a priority in his Executive Order on Promoting Competition. Since then, we have seen an uptick in state legislative efforts and voluntary movement in the private sector, in addition to action by the Biden-Harris Administration, all aimed at giving consumers more control over fixing what they own — whether it’s a tractor or a smartphone. On Tuesday, October 24, join Senior Advisor to the President and Intergovernmental Affairs (IGA) Director Tom Perez, National Economic Council (NEC) Director Lael Brainard, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe, and legislative leaders from across the country to learn about federal and state efforts to strengthen the right to repair.

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The US EPA’s New Food Waste Scale is a Long-Awaited Recognition of the Importance of Composting Inedible Food Scrap

The US EPA’s new Food Waste Scale is a long-awaited recognition of the importance of composting inedible food scrap and will bring much needed clarity to this issue. The USCC has been urging EPA to make this change for the past decade. The new (Food Waste Scale) revisits the food waste hierarchy and changes the framework to prioritize actions that prevent and divert wasted food from disposal. Tiers of the scale highlight different pathways for preventing or managing wasted food in order from most preferred to least preferred. The USCC believes composting is the superior and most economical option for inedible food scraps.

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Apply Now for the 2023-2024 NextCycle Business Accelerator!

JOIN THE 2023-2024 NEXTCYCLE COLORADO COHORT!

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CDPHE legislative proposal: Update the Pollution Prevention Act of 1992 to Improve CDPHE Sustainability Services

CDPHE’s Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability is seeking stakeholder feedback on a legislative proposal that aims to streamline waste diversion grant funding. The proposal would merge the Front Range Waste Diversion enterprise and the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity grant program into the existing enterprise and expand it to have a statewide focus. This change would allow all grant recipients to benefit from the flexible and long-term funding provided by an enterprise and would enable the regional partnerships afforded by a statewide program like RREO.

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New Producer Responsibility Resources on CAA’s Website

CAA has enhanced its website to feature need-to-know information for those who are looking for key EPR implementation milestones and tracking where each state is in the regulatory process.

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Air Pollution Reduction in Colorado – Funding + Technical Support Opportunities

Air quality and climate action are a top priority in Colorado. The Colorado Energy Office (CEO) is implementing the Clean Air Program (CAP) to provide funding for project implementation and technical support to the industrial sector, including material recovery facilities, landfill operators, municipalities, and more, with the aim of reducing air pollution and decrease energy consumption. Here is a summary of the key offerings supplied by the program:

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Circular Action Alliance hosts webinar to discuss Colorado’s EPR program

Circular Action Alliance (CAA), HDR Engineering and Eunomia hosted a webinar yesterday to discuss Colorado’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for paper and packaging recycling. Haulers across Colorado were invited to the approximately 40-minute session to learn about the next steps in the implementation process and discuss the upcoming needs assessment period. 

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Let's Talk Boulder Podcast: No Waste in the First Place

Check out the Let's Talk Boulder Podcast hosted by the City of Boulder's Leah Kelleher. Take a listen to episode 5 as you are taken on a journey to prevent waste, give new life to old objects, and build an economic system that regenerates our planet instead of exploiting it. 
 
Special guests in this episode: 
  • Jamie Harkins, Sustainability Senior Manager for Circular Economies
  • Emily Freeman, Sustainability Policy Advisor
  • Michele Crane, Facilities Architectural Senior Manager

Listen to No Waste in the First Place

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Chaffee County Awarded $4 million EPA Grant for Recycling and Waste Diversion Facility

SALIDA, CO - The dream of a new recycling center and waste transfer station in Chaffee County is a major step closer to reality following today's announcement of a $4 million grant award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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Now accepting nominations for 2024 Recycle Colorado Board of Directors!

For the 2024 year, we are looking to fill 5 new board of director openings. We encourage members with varying backgrounds and perspectives to nominate themselves or someone they know for a position. Most board roles are filled by a member for three years, but if you are interested in a one year term, please let us know. 

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Proposed changes to the solid waste regulations regarding composting

The Solid Waste and Materials Management Program of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is proposing changes to "Section 14 - Composting" of the Regulations Pertaining to Solid Waste Sites and Facilities, 6 CCR 1007-2 Part 1.

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CDPHE Seeking Applicant for Producer Responsibility Advisory Board

The Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling is accepting applications for a vacancy on the Producer Responsibility Advisory Board. This individual will represent the manufacturer of recycled paper products seat and continue in a two-year term that ends in December of 2024. We are accepting applications until September 11 or until the seat is filled.

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Estes recycles to the max in record-breaking event

Estes Valley residents showed up in force on Saturday, August 12 to support Estes Recycles Day, with a record-breaking turnout of 504 cars and trucks unloaded at the Events Center parking lot.

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John Giordanengo turned a business school revelation into research on two global systems

Recycle Colorado keynote speaker from the 2023 Summit for Recycling featured discussing his book in the Colorado Sun. Learn more on how John was inspired to write "Ecosystems As Models for Restoring Our Economies".

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Why a Colorado mattress recycler sends old mattresses to the landfill

Spring Back Colorado, the Commerce City nonprofit, is desperately trying to figure out how to recycle pocket-coil mattresses affordably. It’s a challenge for the entire industry, even in states with mattress recycling laws.

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New Study on Food Residue Levels in Residential Recycling Stream

The Foodservice Packaging Institute, the trade association for the foodservice packaging industry in North America, recently commissioned an audit on materials in the residential recycling stream to determine whether levels of food residue on foodservice packaging (i.e., pizza boxes, paper and plastic cups, clamshells, and aluminum trays) differed from food residue levels on food contact packaging items (i.e., paper ice cream tubs, peanut butter jars, and food cans) that are traditionally included in recycling programs. The study found that a vast majority of food contact and foodservice items in the recycling stream were rated as a level 1 (defined as clean packaging with no food residue) or a level 2 (defined as, clean packaging, with some crumbs or staining from oils). Read the full study summary here: FPI Food Residue Study 2022