Colorado announces fifth year of NextCycle program

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has announced the fifth year of NextCycle Colorado, a program designed to boost businesses with solutions for repurposing recyclable materials. 

NextCycle Colorado provides an accelerator program for businesses and entrepreneurs hoping to grow their recycling businesses and operations. Selected teams will receive no-cost consulting support, participate in a boot camp and present to funders at a pitch competition for the opportunity to win a cash prize.

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"We're thrilled to unveil the upcoming NextCycle Colorado opportunity, a critical component of our mission to accomplish the state’s waste diversion goals,” says Kendra Appelman-Eastvedt, CDPHE program manager. “This business accelerator program represents a dynamic solution to ignite growth in recycling, organics recovery and reuse markets. I am confident we will recruit yet another inspiring cohort of teams."

NextCycle Colorado helps participating teams develop recycling, composting and reuse end markets. Having local markets for these commodities allows the materials Coloradans recycle and compost to transition into new products, which CDPHE says results in environmental, economic and social benefits for Colorado residents and businesses.

The accelerator program will run from January through May and will help the teams develop business plans, create partnerships across the state, understand industry and economic data, identify sources of product, secure funding and work toward shovel-ready projects. 

In the last four years, 34 teams have participated in the six-month business accelerator program. CDPHE provided approximately $3 million in grant funding to more than one-third of the teams, with many of them going on to secure additional investments totaling more than $70 million. Business ventures have ranged from hyper-local composting initiatives to innovations in advanced recycling processes for textiles and carbon fiber. 

Businesses, entrepreneurs, universities, tribal entities, public agencies and nonprofits with investable project ideas may apply. Out of state organizations can also apply if the proposed project occurs in Colorado. All projects must directly advance the development or improvement of recycling or composting end markets in the state, CDPHE says. 

"At Trash Panda, our partnership with NextCycle Colorado has been pivotal in our journey to success,” says Jesse Stedman, founder and CEO of Trash Panda Disc Golf. “This program unlocked exciting opportunities and invaluable benefits during our early years, which helped us accomplish our mission of growing the sport of disc golf sustainably by manufacturing discs out of 100 percent recycled plastic. We deeply appreciate our experience with NextCycle and are excited to invest in future teams through participation on the Technical Advisory Committee." 

CDPHE’s Resource Recycling Economic Opportunity grant program provides funding to NextCycle, and Resource Recycling Systems, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based sustainability and recycling consulting firm, facilitates the program.

Applications for the six-month program will close Dec. 1. To sign up for an information session, learn more about the program or apply, visit the NextCycle Colorado website.