Circular Action Alliance submits Needs Assessment detailing the current state of recycling and opportunities to improve system performance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 29, 2024

Contact: media@circularaction.org

Circular Action Alliance (CAA) has delivered a comprehensive assessment of Colorado’s current recycling system to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), completing an important step toward implementing Colorado’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law for packaging and paper products and demonstrating the program’s potential to more than double the state’s current recycling rate for these materials.  

“We are proud to deliver the country’s first producer-led Needs Assessment for packaging and paper products,” said Neil Menezes, Chair of the CAA Colorado Board. “The findings from this Needs Assessment will inform the development of the statewide recycling program plan and demonstrate a clear opportunity to improve recycling services for Coloradans.”  

As the approved Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) under Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act, CAA worked with the CDPHE, a state-appointed Advisory Board and a third-party consultant to deliver a study that evaluated existing recycling services and infrastructure for managing single-use packaging and paper products. The Needs Assessment also identified gaps in existing services and was inclusive of the needs of all geographic areas in the state.  

The Needs Assessment was prepared by HDR Engineering and Eunomia Research & Consulting, with support from Colorado-based businesses with expertise in recycling and waste management. This research process produced more than 100,000 data points on Colorado’s recycling and composting services through 75 interviews and facility tours with Colorado’s recycling service providers, 150 municipal surveys, webinars, desktop research, and ongoing conversations with other key stakeholders, such as local communities and schools, end markets for recyclables, environmental non-profits, environmental justice groups, and businesses.  

Colorado’s new statewide recycling program will be entirely funded by the companies that are responsible for the consumer packaging and paper products they supply into the state. Under the law, CAA must provide all Coloradans with equitable and convenient recycling services.  

The Needs Assessment revealed disparities in the opportunities Coloradans have to recycle the packaging and paper products they use, depending on where they live in the state. Currently, about 20% of households in rural areas have curbside recycling services. Based on the findings of the Needs Assessment, Colorado’s new statewide recycling program could provide 55% of rural households with curbside recycling while others could benefit from improvements to drop-off collection.  

Other key findings and highlights include:  

• Currently, only 22-28% of consumer packaging and paper products in Colorado are being recycled today. A new, producer-funded statewide recycling program has the potential to increase this recycling rate to 47-60% by 2035. 

• In total, an estimated 500,000 new households in municipalities will receive curbside recycling services. This is based on the requirement that recycling collection must be as convenient as trash collection in a jurisdiction. 

• Areas of the state with the lowest income per capita will experience the largest increase in recycling access. 

• The statewide recycling program will create a common, Minimum Recyclables List, which will support consistent education to improve participation, reduce contamination at both recycling and composting facilities, and increase the recycling rate.  

• Investments in materials recovery facilities are estimated to yield an additional 600,000 tons of additional capacity for all commingled recyclable materials (per year). This represents a 60% increase in what the system can manage today. 

• There is a notable opportunity to expand the end markets in Colorado, particularly for glass, creating a closed loop system where materials are circulated in the economy and kept out of landfill. 

The Needs Assessment includes three future recycling service scenarios, based on the cost and performance of the current system and potential for improvement. The three scenarios proposed in the Needs Assessment outline recycling and collection rates that the State can meet by 2030 and 2035, as well as the operating and capital costs to reach each Scenario. Following a public comment period, CDPHE will select one scenario to recommend to the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado Legislature for approval. 

A detailed executive summary of the Needs Assessment and all documents associated with the Needs Assessment can be found on CDPHE’s and CAA’s websites.  

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About Circular Action Alliance
Circular Action Alliance (CAA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) dedicated to implementing effective Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for paper and packaging across the United States and is approved as the single PRO in California and Colorado. The organization is led by 20 companies from the food, beverage, consumer goods, and retail industries that are united in their commitment to deliver harmonized best-in-class compliance services to all producers, scale innovation, and build systems that help both companies and consumers waste less and recycle more.