solid waste & recycling
introduction
Denver Recycles is one of the city's most successful environmental programs. In 2007, city workers collected more than 26,000 tons of recyclable materials, which generate an average of $800,000 in annual revenue. Reducing landfill waste by increasing participation in the free, easy-to-use program is a key goal of Greenprint Denver. Photo credit: Denver Recycles.
Responsible Materials and Waste Management
Intelligent management of materials and waste is an important way to realize cost efficiencies and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
City operations produce a large amount of waste. Thousands of employees work in facilities that service hundreds of thousands of customers, and this requires tons of consumer goods such as paper and office materials, electronics and computers, machinery and other items to function.
Greenprint Denver positions the city in a leadership role to reduce the amount of waste it generates.
One step toward this goal is to prevent waste at the source through thoughtful purchasing of cost-competitive products made from recycled materials. This action will help decrease the need for raw materials and energy expended for manufacturing, transportation and disposal of consumer goods.
Greenprint Denver also aims to increase the amount of material that is recycled citywide.
Recycling and waste reduction means fewer materials enter the city's landfill, thereby reducing emissions of methane, a harmful landfill and greenhouse gas. Waste reduction also helps the city save money on waste disposal costs such as those incurred for landfill fees, groundwater monitoring, fleet maintenance, and other expenses. Over the long term, reducing waste will result in more efficient trash collection services in Denver, extended landfill life and cost savings, and greater recycling rates and revenues.
The city has already made significant progress toward better waste management, such as the expansion of the city's single-stream recycling program, which has seen an 18% increase in tonnage in the first year. Residents have responded very positively to the easy-to-use, single-cart system.
The city will also start producing power from the landfill's existing renewable methane supply next year. Using the gas byproduct that is released from rotting organic materials such as food scraps, lawn clippings and leaves cuts back on waste and provides a renewable fuel source.
Additionally, Denver requires electronics vendors to provide information on their corporate environmental responsibility practices, provide Energy Star®-compliant products, offer take-back and end-of-life management options, and use recyclable packaging.
Greenprint Denver builds on these accomplishments and outlines a set of achievable objectives to guide the city's next steps.
