Western Disposal is continuing to provide both residential and commercial collection during the State of Colorado’s Stay-at-Home order. Things aren’t entirely “business as usual” though — please help us out by following these guidelines: DO bag and tie your trash: this protects our workers from handling infectious trash and causing inadvertent transmission. DO empty and…
Virtually all of us at one time or another have enjoyed the convenience and ease of online shopping to purchase everything from toothpaste to mattresses. With companies such as Amazon, Instacart, Blue Apron, in addition to the online options from traditional retailers, Americans spent over $500 billion in online purchases in 2018. However, this convenience…
Over the past decade, composting has shed its hippie-lifestyle image and become a mainstay in government policy efforts to increase diversion rates and reduce greenhouse gas emmissions. Composting is an important piece of the puzzle in diversion from landfills and overall climate stewardship, but isn’t the best use of our excess and uneaten food. By…
When it comes to sustainability, the role of the landfill is most often portrayed in unflattering terms. Over the past 30 years the drive to divert material from the landfill has changed the template of recycling. From dual stream bin collection to commingled carts, more and more materials have been incorporated as acceptable items as…
If the St. Vrain Valley Schools were a city, its student and staff population of more than 38,000 would put it among the 25 largest in the state. As with any population this size, resource stewardship is important both fiscally and environmentally. Laurel Mattrey, St. Vrain’s Energy and Sustainability Manager, shares that school district leadership…
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans throw away more than three billion (approximately 180,000 tons) of batteries annually. The vast majority of those landfilled are alkaline. The soup of harmful substances contained in alkaline batteries (which include toxic heavy metals and corrosive acids) are sealed in the manufacturing process, and consumers do not come…
As the recycling industry continues to face market and quality challenges, companies such as AMP Robotics are creating hi-tech solutions. With charges for recycling continuing to escalate ($32.50 per ton as of June 2019 vs. $5.00 per ton May 2018 at the Boulder County Recycling Center), innovation with robotic sorting is gaining interest at material…
Where is your stash — In a closet? On a garage shelf? Down in the basement? Most of us have an area in the house where outdated electronics accumulate. When you decide to clear the clutter, be sure to do so responsibly. In 2013, the state of Colorado passed the Electronic Recycling Jobs Act prohibiting…
Earth Day and Beyond Every year for the past 49 years, Earth Day has been observed around the world as a way to raise global ecological awareness. Observed in 192 countries, it is now the largest civic-focused day of action in the world. This year’s theme is “Protect our Species”. And while we here in…
Plastic bags are one of the most pernicious, problematic materials for recycling facilities. They cannot be sorted mechanically and as a result they roll along the sorting lines getting tangled up in the screens, jamming the machinery and costing time and money to extract.
We promise not to bombard you with emails - just news you can use.
And of course, you can unsubscribe at any time!
