Earlier this month, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bill to “Incentivize the Development of Recycling End Markets.” Once signed into law by Governor Jared Polis, it will establish a recycling end market development center for the state, which “will attract new businesses and entrepreneurs who use recycled materials to Colorado through technical and financial assistance.”
The bill was designed to address Colorado’s need for more local businesses to use the state’s recyclable materials. Bill advocates cited the fact that approximately $265 million worth of paper, glass, metal and plastic is buried each year in Colorado landfills—and also noted “the costs of transporting recyclable materials are a significant burden on local communities.”
The goal of the bill was to create more end markets for recycled materials in Colorado, “which would reduce the need to transport materials out of state, lowering costs for recyclers and shrinking the carbon footprint of recycling.”
Eco-Cycle and Recycle Colorado are among the organizations that worked to develop and advocate for this legislation.