Opinion: Colorado isn’t great at recycling.Producer Responsibility should change this

There is no alternative to increasing Colorado’s recycling rates. Fortunately, a new program backed by a coalition of diverse communities in rural and urban areas will give our state the boost it needs to finally become a leader in recycling.

Colorado’s recycling rate is 16%, less than half the national average. The biggest reason for this embarrassingly low recycling rate is that many Coloradans, especially those who live in apartments and rural areas, don’t have easy access to recycling services or have to pay extra to get them. Those trying to do the right thing are often understandably frustrated by the different recycling guidelines in different communities. For all these reasons, the annual report of EcoCycling and the Colorado Public Interest Research Group found that Colorado landfills approximately 6 million tons of recyclable materials each year.

Burying recyclable materials underground is a huge waste for the planet and the economy. Not only do landfills produce planet-warming methane gas, but the market value of recyclable cans, bottles, boxes and paper landfilled in Colorado each year is estimated to be as high as $100 million.

This discarded aluminum, steel, plastic, paper and cardboard should be converted into raw materials for remanufacturing new products and packaging, saving natural resources and millions of dollars in the process.

But there is hope. Colorado’s new producer responsibility policy — only one-third the size of its kind nationwide — will soon make recycling available to all Coloradans at no additional cost to them. Whether you live in a rural town or in an apartment complex in the heart of the city, you can have automated recycling services that are just as convenient as your garbage disposal. We will have a standardized list of materials that can be recycled across the state.

The program will also minimize, if not eliminate, packaging material recycling costs paid by local governments and taxpayers. Each community will receive new or expanded services and education programs without allocating funds. An estimated 700,000 households will receive the new kerbside recycling service, while households that already receive kerbside recycling will no longer pay directly for it.

Residents in rural areas will receive expanded recycling services for free through curbside service or drop-off centers.

This new producer responsibility program will be funded by a small fee paid by consumer brands or manufacturers (such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo) that sell their products in Colorado for packaging materials (e.g., bottles, cans, boxes). Fees will vary based on the environmental footprint of the packaging, providing a direct incentive for manufacturers to use packaging in their products that is recyclable and contains more recycled content.

Decades of successful producer responsibility programs in Canada and Europe have shown costs to Coloradans a fraction of one cent per unit packaged, a finding confirmed by a recent study conducted for Colorado.