Too Much Trash

According to BioCycle’s most recent State of Garbage in America survey, in 2004, Coloradans generated 7.6 million tons of municipal solid waste, including paper, trash, old appliances, grass clippings, furniture, clothing, and other everyday items. With a state of 4.6 million residents, that’s the equivalent of 1.7 tons per person. We recycled only 12.5 percent of that waste, and the remaining 87.4 percent of it was sent to landfills around the state.

Colorado lags behind the national average recycling rate of 30 percent, which is still significantly lower than what is needed to offset the 4.5 pounds of waste each of us generates daily, contributing to the 236 million tons of garbage we produce nationwide each year.

As our state’s population grows and continues producing even greater amounts of waste, more energy is required for transporting and managing the waste. If we prevent waste to begin with by buying products that are made with less material, reusing things, wearing things out before discarding them, and reducing the amount of trash we discard, less energy is needed to extract, transport, process raw materials, and to manufacture products. These practices go a long way toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: EPA.
Chart title: 2003 Total U.S. Waste Generation.
Chart data: Paper: 35.2%, Yard Debris: 12.1%, Food Scraps: 11.7%, Plastics: 11.3%, Metals: 8.0%, Textiles: 7.4%, Wood: 5.8%, Glass: 5.3%, Other: 3.4%.

Easy Action Tips

Recycle

Denver Recycles now has single stream recycling, so you don’t even have to separate your recyclables. If you are a Denver resident, sign up online for the free service.

If you live in a townhome or apartment and cannot participate in Denver’s residential recycling program, talk to your neighbors and your landlord, HOA, and/or property manager to begin a discussion about starting a recycling program in your building.

Compost

Yard trimmings and food scraps make up about 20 percent of what Denver residents send to the landfill every year. You can reduce waste by purchasing a mulch attachment for your lawn mower, or by starting a compost pile. Contact Denver Recycles for tips on learning to compost.

Minimize Junk Mail

Did you know: • If 1 person stops Junk Mail delivery Saves 41 pounds waste/year • If 50 people stop Junk Mail delivery Saves 2,050 pounds waste/year • Each year, 100 million trees are used to produce junk mail You can save trees, water, time, and even reduce the possibility of identity theft by . By using our email reduction post cards, you can stop junk mail from being sent to your address. Email us at michael.barney@denvergov.org and we will send a packet of post cards to you.

Bring Your Own Bag

Millions of bags are handed out each year that end up as litter on city streets, clog storm drains, and are mistaken by animals as food, causing injury and death to thousands of animals every year.

Each re-useable bag you use has the potential to eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of plastic bags over its lifetime. Plastic bag production uses more than 12 million barrels of oil annually.

You can take re-usable bags to the grocery store, to the library, or to just carry stuff. Keep several in your car for last minute use.

Choose Reusable Containers

Take a mug to the office and the coffee house to avoid using disposable cups. Some companies even offer customers a small discount for using a reusable mug. Starbucks offers a $.10 discount. In 2004, Starbucks customers used commuter mugs 15.1 million times and prevented 655,000 pounds of paper waste.

Repair Items

Sometimes this is difficult, especially when it is cheaper to buy new then repair an item. This is not always the case, however, and with a little research you might be surprised. Investing in high-quality items, even if more expensive to begin with, is often the better economical and environmental choice over the life of the item.

Buy Recycled

Purchasing products made from recycled materials reduces the amount of virgin natural resources that we need to consume. Less energy is needed to extract, transport and process raw materials, fewer fossil fuels are burned, and less carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere. Buying recycled paper products allows more trees to remain standing in the forest, where they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and help regulate our climate.

Donate Reusable Items

A golden rule of waste reduction is to never throw away anything that can be used again. If you have an item you no longer want, but it is still in usable condition, donate it to a school or nonprofit charity, give it to a neighbor, sell it, or recycle it.

Precycle

Think before you buy. Do you need the item? Is it long-lasting and free of toxins? Can it be recycled locally (ideally at curbside)? Can you buy in bulk (e.g. juice and pour into a reusable container for lunch) rather than buying individual, non-reusable juice boxes? By conserving at the outset, you prevent waste from being made in the first place.