Recycling provides direct, tangible benefits to the community and the environment. The business of recycling creates jobs, spurs investment and sparks innovation. Environmentally, it conserves natural resources, saves energy and reduces pollution. The EPA estimates that 75% of our waste is recyclable — 75%! That’s a lot of power to do good, right in your hands, just by choosing the right bin and occasionally thinking outside the bin.
Recycling properly is the key to maximizing its benefit. Understanding what can be recycled keeps the materials stream clean and marketable. There may be items in the “NO” section of our guidelines that have a recycling symbol or that you are able to recycle in other cities.
Each recycling center is unique, using different equipment and processing lines, which can create differences between items that can be recycled in each community. Recycling that is either contaminated with trash or mixed with different types of recyclable material will either be trashed or sold as a much lower-value material to recycling companies.
Single-stream recycling picked up by Western from your home or business is taken to the Boulder County Recycling Center (BCRC), where it is separated, baled and sent to market for recycling. The BCRC sets guidelines for what can be recycled based upon their sorting equipment and material market conditions.
Organic material such as food and yard waste comprises nearly 30% of the waste generated by U.S. households. In a landfill, these materials decompose anaerobically, creating methane, a potent greenhouse gas. When diverted from the landfill through composting programs, it instead becomes a valuable product that sequesters carbon, builds healthy soil and supports plant health. Like recycling, composting maximizes the value of existing resources through reuse, reduces environmental impacts and creates jobs.
Utilizing curbside compost services is a simple action with significant environmental benefits. Yet some folks hesitate to fully utilize the service because of concerns about odors or flies. Here are a few tips to help manage the “yuck” factor:
Due to wildlife concerns, the following areas in Boulder County are prohibited from depositing food scraps in their compost bin: East of Highway 36, but west of 39th Street (or 26th Street) and south of Nelson Road. Crestview Estates, Lake of the Pines HOA and the town of Eldorado Springs up to the park entrance.
Special Bulletin A1 Organics, which operates THE ONLY permitted large-scale compost manufacturing facility serving the Front Range community, has made changes to the materials they will accept for composting. Due to the high levels of contamination in the compostables stream, they cannot sell their finished compost product made from community collection programs and are…
Recycling right is the key to maximizing its benefit; understanding what can be recycled locally keeps the materials stream clean and marketable. There are items in the “NO” section of our local guidelines that are recyclable in other areas. This is because each recycling center employs a unique mix of equipment and processing methods, which…
Many of our customers are confused by the wide variety of products that claim to be either compostable or biodegradable and whether these products can go into a compost container. These terms do have a key difference that impacts their disposal. For an item to be considered compostable, it must be able to break down…
We’ve all heard the adage “small actions can make a big difference”. Unfortunately in the case of our local composting program, small actions of carelessness and indifference are wreaking havoc, contaminating the compost material stream and threatening the program’s very existence. A1 Organics, one of the only processors in the region that accepts food waste…
An estimated 55,000 mattresses and box springs are discarded each day in the US, resulting in 450 million pounds of waste annually and filling more than 100 million feet of landfill space. Spring Back Colorado, Western Disposal’s partner in mattress recycling, located in Commerce City and serving counties in the Mountains and across the Front…
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” –Maya Angelou Whether you’re a crafter, an artist, a teacher or a parent in search of kids crafting supplies, Art Parts Creative Reuse Center, located at 3080 Valmont in Boulder, is calling your name. Established in 2011, the founders of this…
There is huge opportunity to recycle items that cannot go into your curbside bin. Often referred to as ‘hard-to-recycle’, these items are typically heavy, bulky or require special handling or disposal. Accessibility and convenience are key to increasing recycling participation, and when designing our new Materials Management Center (MMC), located at 2051 63rd Street in…
It will be no surprise to readers that due to the rapid pace of technology and burgeoning consumer demand, electronic waste is now the world’s fastest-growing waste stream. Most electronic devices reach the end of their useful life after only a year or two, and in many households, the need to responsibly dispose of electronics…
The PBS/Frontline exposé Plastic Wars focuses on the dubious origin of the recycle symbol.
“Old rags, any old rags!” was a call heard on many city streets from the late nineteenth century into the 1960s, as the rag man rumbled by collecting textiles from households. In fact, textile recycling can be traced all the way back to the Napoleonic wars (1803-1815) when virgin wool shortages resulted in the requirement…
Many types of packaging used for bathroom products are recyclable, but as a recycling opportunity the bathroom is frequently overlooked. Follow these simple guidlelines for recycling right in the bathroom. A dedicated container in the area adds convenience and makes recycling more practical. Add a small bin under the sink for recyclables. Labels do not…
What do equipment downtime, excessive maintenance, added labor costs and reduced commodity values all have in common? They all can result from contamination in the recycling stream. Follow these simple rules to keep the recycling stream clean and the Boulder County Recycling Center operating efficiently: 1. NO LOOSE PLASTIC BAGS AND NO MATERIAL IN PLASTIC…
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…
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.
You’ve got the basics down, now it’s time to up your game. Take the “pulp fiction” quiz below to see how well you know the Boulder County Recycling Center’s paper recycling guidelines. Fact or fiction – the following papers are recyclable: Copy or printer paper-ream wrappers Hanging and file folders Construction paper and tissue paper…
Summer is here! For many of us, summertime means camping at one of the countless magical spots here in Colorado. For others, this is the time to finally get some projects done around the house while also keeping that yard looking good. However, did you know that both activities create a unique waste item that must…
Backyard composting is an effective way to reduce your household carbon footprint, and it can be very rewarding to produce your very own quality compost for the garden. While there is certainly a lot of science behind backyard composting, a little know-how will take you a long way. To produce your own “black gold”, nurture your…
Let us do the heavy lifting! Due to the City of Boulder’s Universal Zero Waste Ordinance which requires ALL properties, residential, commercial and multifamily to have trash, recycle and compost service by June, 2016, Western has worked with many of our existing customers to start their new compost service. As implementing compost collection at your…