Colorado addresses recycling transportation challenges

Colorado’s Circular Economy Development Center (CEDC) hosted a stakeholder meeting June 26 to discuss challenges facing recycled material transportation.

Tasked with expanding and creating end markets, CEDC analyzes supply chains, including transportation, to show how materials travel within Colorado and regionally. CEDC currently is expanding a facility in Pueblo, Colorado, to operate as a hub for recycled material collection and transportation. Small-scale commercial generators and municipal recycling drop-off centers often face challenges in accumulating enough material to offset transportation costs, leading to financial strain attributed to lack of storage space and shipping partial loads to end users.

According to CEDC, the Front Range Transload (FRT) project will create a transportation network for communities throughout the Front Range, collecting recyclable materials and providing the generators the ability to efficiently ship materials on a more frequent basis, reducing the storage and cost challenges. FRT will ensure dedicated and consistent trucking routes for collecting recyclables, CEDC says.  

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At the June 26 stakeholder meeting, CEDC Director Laurie Johnson said she was inspired to connect with other representatives from the region, including the Utah Recycling Alliance, Wyoming Solid Waste and Recycling Association, Nebraska Recycling Council, Kansas Organization of Recyclers and State of Texas Alliance for Recycling, to tackle transportation challenges.

“Everyone needs to know what everyone else in the region is doing,” Johnson said. “The best way to get large volumes of materials recycled is to work together and maximize transportation options.”

Recycling or circular economy experts in Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas or other nearby states interested in working on a regional hub-and-spoke model are encouraged to contact the CEDC at info@circularcolorado.org or visit the CEDC website.