{"id":25423,"date":"2025-11-14T23:24:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T23:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/?p=25423"},"modified":"2025-11-19T23:25:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T23:25:12","slug":"sorc-report-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>This America Recycles Day, we\u2019re celebrating local communities and champions proving that everyday action can move us toward a truly circular and sustainable future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:0px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"550\" data-src=\"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25422 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png 1000w, https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release-768x422.png 768w, https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release-200x110.png 200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 1000px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 1000\/550;\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG Foundation just released the <a href=\"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/resources\/sorc-report-2025\/\">9th annual State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado report<\/a>, and our findings show clear momentum. From Denver to Aspen to Longmont and Boulder, local leadership, strong policies, and community commitment are helping Colorado shift away from the old \u201ctake, make, waste\u201d system to a circular future based on the wise use of valuable resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s driving progress?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado report highlights a number of leading cities and businesses that have seen significant improvements in waste diversion over the last year as they build programs and implement policies that drive waste reduction and diversion, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Longmont nearly doubled business and multifamily recycling and composting<\/strong>\u2014from 35% to 59%\u2014after implementing its Universal Recycling Ordinance.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Aspen\u2019s Organic Waste Ordinance led to a 350% surge in food scraps being composted<\/strong> and returned to replenish local soils.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Denver expanded residential compost collections citywide to 75,000 homes<\/strong>, increasing organics diversion by 55%.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Boulder\u2019s deconstruction ordinance has diverted more than 105,000 tons of reusable materials<\/strong> since 2020, keeping lumber, concrete, and metals out of landfills.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A small business in Commerce City\u2014<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.perksdeconstruction.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Perks Deconstruction<\/a><strong>\u2014recovered over 1 million pounds of building materials<\/strong> for reuse and recycling in 2024 alone, demonstrating the potential of the growing reuse economy to provide local jobs and economic activity.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Statewide, Colorado increased diversion of woody material\u2014including yard trimmings, branches and logs from wildfire mitigation efforts, pallets, and clean lumber\u2014by 50% in just one year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even bigger changes are coming in 2026, when the state begins to implement a <a href=\"https:\/\/leg.colorado.gov\/bills\/hb22-1355\">Producer Responsibility program<\/a>, which will ensure that the largest companies making everyday products that Coloradans buy will help pay for the recycling of the boxes, cans, bottles, and paper that those products come in. When fully implemented over the next few years, the program will:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Provide free, convenient recycling access for every Coloradan<\/strong>\u2014no matter where you live.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Expand recycling services to <strong>500,000 more households<\/strong>.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recycle over 400,000 tons of packaging annually<\/strong>, more than twice what we recycle today.<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ease the burden on communities and residents <\/strong>by requiring the companies that make packaging to pay for Colorado\u2019s recycling system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Progress Happens Community by Community<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Colorado, communities, businesses, and local leaders are demonstrating that Zero Waste strategies can lead to big jumps in recycling, composting, and reuse. Together, we\u2019re taking collective action to build systems that make sense, and lay the foundation for a truly circular system in Colorado.You can read the full <em>State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado<\/em> report at <a href=\"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/our-programs\/zero-waste-colorado\/state-of-recycling-composting\/\">ecocycle.org\/SORC<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This America Recycles Day, we\u2019re celebrating local communities and champions proving that everyday action can move us toward a truly circular and sustainable future. Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG Foundation just released the 9th annual State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado report, and our findings show clear momentum. From Denver to Aspen to Longmont and Boulder, [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":25422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[151,273,253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-homepage","category-colorado-news","category-news-policy-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting - Eco-Cycle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting - Eco-Cycle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eco-Cycle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-14T23:24:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-11-19T23:25:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kylie Byrd\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ecocycle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kylie Byrd\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kylie Byrd\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f3ff81e19f2633236812597d34caa1b\"},\"headline\":\"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-14T23:24:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-19T23:25:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":458,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Report-Release.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog Homepage\",\"Colorado News\",\"News, Policy &amp; Research\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting - Eco-Cycle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Report-Release.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-14T23:24:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-19T23:25:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f3ff81e19f2633236812597d34caa1b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Report-Release.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Report-Release.png\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":550},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/sorc-report-release\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Eco-Cycle\",\"description\":\"Advancing Zero Waste Solutions\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ecocycle.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4f3ff81e19f2633236812597d34caa1b\",\"name\":\"Kylie Byrd\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/713d798f2e45356fbb134c84ee95c398ac57ff5d0308e52f60381ce19a12d86e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/713d798f2e45356fbb134c84ee95c398ac57ff5d0308e52f60381ce19a12d86e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/713d798f2e45356fbb134c84ee95c398ac57ff5d0308e52f60381ce19a12d86e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kylie Byrd\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ecocycle\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting - Eco-Cycle","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting - Eco-Cycle","og_url":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/","og_site_name":"Eco-Cycle","article_published_time":"2025-11-14T23:24:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-11-19T23:25:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":550,"url":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kylie Byrd","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ecocycle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kylie Byrd","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/"},"author":{"name":"Kylie Byrd","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3ff81e19f2633236812597d34caa1b"},"headline":"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting","datePublished":"2025-11-14T23:24:42+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-19T23:25:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/"},"wordCount":458,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png","articleSection":["Blog Homepage","Colorado News","News, Policy &amp; Research"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/","url":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/","name":"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting - Eco-Cycle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png","datePublished":"2025-11-14T23:24:42+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-19T23:25:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3ff81e19f2633236812597d34caa1b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Report-Release.png","width":1000,"height":550},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/sorc-report-release\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Colorado Communities Are Driving Real Progress on Recycling and Composting"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/","name":"Eco-Cycle","description":"Advancing Zero Waste Solutions","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4f3ff81e19f2633236812597d34caa1b","name":"Kylie Byrd","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/713d798f2e45356fbb134c84ee95c398ac57ff5d0308e52f60381ce19a12d86e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/713d798f2e45356fbb134c84ee95c398ac57ff5d0308e52f60381ce19a12d86e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/713d798f2e45356fbb134c84ee95c398ac57ff5d0308e52f60381ce19a12d86e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kylie Byrd"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/ecocycle"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25423"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25493,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25423\/revisions\/25493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecocycle.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}