As announced earlier this year, Laurie Johnson is transitioning back to the private sector. Laurie accepted a position with 5280 Recycling Solutions as Chief Operating Offier for their recycling division. The Recycle Colorado Board, in partnership with Laurie and 5280, agreed to participate in a transparent and thoughtful transition process over the course of 2019. After the planning and execution of a successful Summit in Pueblo, Laurie's official last day with Recycle Colorado was June 15, 2019.

Happy Spring! Recycle Colorado is hard at work organizing an innovative and educational Summit for Recycling conference June 9-11! I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our other updates.

Recycle Colorado is proud to announce the recipients of the 2019 Recycling Awards. Winners were nominated by their peers in recognition of their contributions to or promotion of recycling and waste reduction. This year’s awards highlight champions for recycling in rural Colorado, lawmakers dedicated to waste diversion, and businesses that exemplify waste reduction best practices.

All of Colorado’s K-12 students were invited to showcase their artistic talent and their commitment to the environment. This year's theme was "What can I recycle?"

Recycle Colorado's Composting Council is an official chapter of the United States Composting Council (USCC). The USCC Certification Commission offers two credentials: Certified Compost Operations Manager™ and Certified Composting Professional™.

Each year Recycle Colorado seeks nominations for our annual Recycling Awards. These prestigious awards recognize governmental entities, individuals, companies, media and organizations for their excellence in recycling or promotion of recycling. The 2019 awards will be presented at the 30th annual Summit for Recycling conference in Pueblo, Colorado, June 9-11. Please inform your nominee to plan on being in Pueblo on Monday, June 10th from 6:00pm to 8:30pm for the awards ceremony. Award recipients will be notified by May 3, 2019.

Deadline for Proposals: Friday, April 12, 2019

In 2018 the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment launched Colorado NextCycle, an innovative program to jumpstart end-market development in the state. Attend the Summit for Recycling, June 9-11, in Pueblo to hear directly from the selected NextCycle teams as they share their business ideas with recycling professionals and investors.

2019 is off to an exciting start for Recycle Colorado. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of our new updates.

Operations Director

The Operations Director for Recycle Colorado is a new position in the organization for 2019. This is an exempt full-time position based out of our Denver office location. The Operations Director, under the direction of the Executive Director, is a key person in Recycle Colorado’s goal of delivering high-value programs and resources to our partners, members and communities statewide.

Recycle Colorado, in partnership with GE Johnson, kicks off the 2019 Colorado Contractor’s Challenge! The Challenge is a voluntary program designed to encourage contractors based in Colorado to initiate or improve their sustainability efforts.  It’s an easy way to receive community recognition and promotion of your company’s green business practices.

Colorado’s closed-loop system needs more recycled glass

A six-month glass-collection pilot project coordinated by Recycle Colorado will increase the collection of glass bottles in downtown Denver. The project provides 96-gallon recycling carts to participating businesses and arranges for glass collection services through May 2019. Businesses can participate for free.

The Executive Director Monthly Update keeps our members and partners up to date on all the action groups, projects, councils, round tables and events that are ongoing throughout the year. We appreciate your support and welcome you to jump in and participate!

Applications accepted three times a year

Funding for alternative fueling infrastructure and alternative fuel vehicles, cover 80% of the conversion costs to switch to natural gas.

Rolling application

This grant program provides recycling bins, training on sustainable waste management and enough funds to get your recycling program rolling.

Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG, released their second annual State of Recycling in Colorado report, which found that Colorado generated a record 9.3 million tons of waste in 2017, while the state’s recycling rate remained stagnant at 12 percent, well below the national average of 35 percent.

The National Recycling Coalition (NRC) honored their recycling awards recipients at the 2018 Resource Recycling Conference in St. Louis last week.  The awards program honors outstanding individuals, programs and organizations around the country, both for their achievements and to serve as a model and a resource for NRC members.