Colorado Springs sets ambitious goal to improve recycling

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The city of Colorado Springs is aiming to enhance its recycling efforts, following a law passed in 2022. A plan was presented to the City Council on Feb. 23.

According to a study done by the city, Colorado Springs only diverts about 16% of its waste from landfills. That's less than half of the national average, which is around 34%, and falls behind Denver, which reported a 22% diversion rate in 2024.

The city's goal is to get its overall diversion number to 37% by 2045 and eventually tackle food and yard waste. For now, traditional recycling access remains a major focus.

Not every resident has the budget for a recycling bin. So, what's the plan?

It starts by relying on the Producer Responsibility Act, passed in June 2022.

Under the law, companies that sell packaged paper products must enroll in the program, which requires them to cover the costs of recycling. There's also a carve-out for trash haulers to be part of the solution.

Under the program, waste companies can provide recycling to customers at no extra cost. The program would reimburse companies for the cost of recycling materials, with the hope that it will incentivize residents to recycle without worrying about the added cost.

Ideally, it will give residents more confidence in the system.

"There is actual distrust. Is my recycling actually being recycled? So there's a lot of distrust with that," says Asha Kurian of WastelessCOS. "So, with everything that we have here, we've come up with five strategies, right? We are going to leverage the Extended Producer Responsibility Act, which essentially means our residents will have free recycling moving forward."

Kurian also outlined the importance of education to ensure the right items are recycled.

KRDO13 reached out to several waste companies that operate in Colorado Springs. Waste Management and Apex Waste each said they plan to participate in the program.

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