Top: Graphic courtesy Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG Foundation

Eco-Cycle and CoPIRG Foundation released their 9th annual State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado 2025 report in November, which shows “Colorado — led by local champions, businesses and communities — continues to make significant progress on recycling, compost and reuse.” The report comes as the state begins to implement a transformative Producer Responsibility recycling program in 2026. “Communities that have made the biggest advances last year include Denver, Longmont, Aspen and Boulder, demonstrating that when communities prioritize Zero Waste strategies, they work,” state the authors.

In past editions, EcoCycle and CoPIRG have reported diversion rates for municipalities and counties. It’s been difficult, they note, to compare apples to apples by creating a ranking system, since communities report their data in different ways: “Fortunately, with Producer Responsibility coming online in 2026, we expect more consistent data reporting across the state. Therefore, this year, we are not reporting on comparative diversion rates across multiple communities, but instead are highlighting specific advancements communities have made toward achieving their Zero Waste goals.”

In terms of organics recycling, Colorado diverted almost 375,000 tons of woody material in 2024, nearly 125,000 tons more than in 2023. “While a notable step forward, even with this increase in diversion of woody material, we still bury two million tons of food scraps and yard trimmings in Colorado landfills every year,” according to the authors. “Organic materials, including food scraps and yard trimmings, comprise approximately 37% of Colorado’s overall waste stream, which presents a tremendous opportunity to increase diversion and achieve resulting environmental and economic benefits.”

Composting in Colorado data highlights include:

• In 2024, Denver’s residential compost program expanded hauling services citywide to serve 75,000 homes, increasing organics diversion access by 55%.
• According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s list of registered landfills and composting facilities, nine of Colorado’s 55 landfills operate Class III composting sites, roughly 10 other landfills operate in counties that have active Class III composting facilities, and many others are in counties that have smaller composting facilities. Class III sites are allowed to process all types of organic feedstock (vegetative, food, manure, biosolids, etc.) and do not have a regulatory cap on the amount of material they actively process.
• In 2024, Aspen’s new Organic Waste Ordinance that requires food establishments to have an organics hauler has resulted in a 223% increase in food scraps being composted (from 804 tons in 2023 to 2,600 tons in 2024).

Download the State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado at this link.