With the recent call to action on Climate Change, Colorado residents feel it’s time to go green and follow some of our sister states in introducing new recycling laws, statutes and regulations. For many businesses and households, recycling has proven to be cost effective-using less energy to obtain and process materials, and reducing pollution and waste management costs.

Questions people may have are:
How?
Recycle clean bottles, cans, paper and cardboard.
Keep food and liquid out of recycling.
No loose plastic or bagged recyclables.
Consumers will have several beverage container recycling options in Colorado. They can redeem their containers for recycling at either a supermarket-based recycling center or other privately-operated recycling center. Or they can "donate" their containers and redemption payment to either a non-profit recycling program or to their curbside recycling program.

All supermarkets in Colorado are required to have a recycling center within a specified area around the store (called a "convenience zone"). If a recycling opportunity does not exist in this zone, then generally the supermarket, and all other retailers that sell beverage containers in that zone, must take-back containers in-store. Supermarket-based recycling centers receive a premium payment, called a handling fee, to offset the additional costs these sites incur.

However, most beverage container recycling will not occur at supermarket sites, nor does most recycling take place through curbside recycling as most people assume. Instead, private-sector recycling centers that generally predate Colorado's Bottle Bill program recycle the bulk, 55%-65%, of beverage containers. Supermarket-based recyclers account for about 25% of beverage container recycling and curbside recycling accounts for about 20% of beverage container recycling

Who pays for it?
Like all bottle bills, the payment of a deposit by consumers is the backbone of the program. Consumers pay $0.05 for containers under 24 ounces and $0.10 for containers over 24 ounces. That money is returned to consumers when they recycle their containers, or is "donated" to a curbside operator or non-profit recycler depending on how the consumers chooses to recycle the container. This is essential to the recycling rate and its low beverage container litter rate; by putting a monetary value on the recycling of beverage containers, consumers are much more likely to recycle, not litter or trash, beverage containers.

Who regulates it?
State boards and environmental protection agencies.

Statistics?
94 million tons of MSW were recycled and composted, equivalent to a 32.1 percent recycling and composting rate. Jul 14, 2021 which is 2.5% LESS waste recycled compared to 2014. Using recycled glass and certain plastics instead of virgin materials can reduce environmental impacts more than 50 percent. Recycled paper and aluminum reduce environmental impacts between 70-85 percent. By reducing air and water pollution and saving energy, recycling offers an important environmental benefit: it reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons, that contribute to global climate change.

Give an example: California's Bottle Bill prevents the land filling or littering of more than 80%, or 17 billion, of the containers used in California annually.

Join me! Lets go green, save the planet and keep Colorado colorful by introducing the new Colorado Bottle bill and waste management regulations!