Denver Launches Composting Collection Pilot Program

The next generation in recycling - Denver Composts!  Denver residents have proven they are great recyclers and thanks to a grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, we are now ready to take recycling to the next level in Denver by testing composting collection through a new pilot program. Organic material, like food, food-soiled paper and yard debris, is the single largest item we throw away in our landfill and it’s 100 percent compostable. 

The residential composting collection pilot program is scheduled to begin this October and will test collection services at 3,000 Denver homes.  Each home will be provided with a green, 65-gallon composting cart (the same size as the purple Denver Recycles carts) and a small kitchen pail to collect organic material inside the home.  The green carts will be serviced weekly during the growing season, then every-other-week through the winter.

The areas eligible for the pilot program have been selected to provide a representative sample of the City & County based on a number of different factors.  At this time, our funding limits us to 3,000 homes. Residents receiving a brochure in the mail are eligible for service and invited to participate.

The composting collection program will accept organic material that includes yard debris such as grass clippings, plant trimmings, small branches, weeds and leaves; food such as fruit and vegetable trimmings, meat, dairy, coffee grounds, bread and other processed food; and food-soiled paper such as used paper plates, paper coffee cups, tea bags, coffee filters, paper milk cartons (no foil lined cartons), paper ice cream cartons and much more.  The program will strictly prohibit any type of plastic materials, as these are contaminants that prohibit the ability to compost the organic material.

For more information or to track the progress of the pilot program, visit us online at www.DenverGov.org/DenverRecycle.