Waste plan for Colorado Springs sets goal to double recycling rate by 2045
Colorado Springs has released a long-term plan to more than double the amount of material that gets diverted from landfills to recycling.
The Waste Diversion Action Plan, announced Tuesday, is the result of a study that Colorado Springs has worked on since the summer of 2023 through its WastelessCOS campaign. The study included sorting roughly 9,000 pounds of trash and recycling to understand what residents throw away in the city and interviewing 11 companies involved in some portion of the waste and reuse process.
The plan sets a goal for the city to go from diverting 16% of trash into reuse to diverting 37% by 2045.
Deputy Chief of Staff Ryan Trujillo said the increase was meant to be an ambitious number that was still reachable. In theory, as much as 80% of all items thrown away could be reused or recycled but no city has reached that mark.
“Our community has been asking the city to pursue efforts around sustainability, particularly when it comes to waste and recycling. In part, it’s in response to our community’s wants and needs, but it’s also something that is the responsibility for all of us to look out for future generations,” Trujillo said.
One of the most ambitious proposals suggested in the plan is a universal recycling ordinance similar to what Boulder and Longmont have enacted, which requires that the service be available at all properties across the city. Trujillo said Colorado Springs did not expect to issue a mandate along those lines.
Trujillo said the city would likely start with increasing the education efforts around what recycling is available. The plan suggests that the city develop different toolkits to work with local businesses, school districts and multifamily housing developments on education and providing easier recycling options.
Some of the costs for expanding recycling services would be covered by Colorado’s House Bill 22-1355. The bill charged fees to the biggest producers of recyclable products in Colorado, which can be used beginning in 2026 to help compensate waste pickup companies for the additional costs to collect recycling.
Two of the biggest categories of trash in Colorado Springs are organic. The city’s recent waste study found that food scraps made up around 15% of all material thrown away by residents and yard debris accounted for 10% of waste.
The diversion plan recommended that the city set a hard goal for how much to reduce food waste by 2045 and take steps to encourage residents to compost or use their scraps.
“What we’re really trying to do is reduce the barrier to entry for recycling and composting. That can include additional drop-off locations. That can include grant funding to help subsidize some of the costs associated with recycling,” Trujillo said.
The city received grants from Colorado Circular Communities, a state program for recycling and the “circular economy,” to pay for both the waste study and the new plan.