Implementation of Colorado’s EPR law moves forward with release of needs assessment

Circular Action Alliance (CAA), the nonprofit organization formed in response to the passage of Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act and similar extended producer responsibility (ERP) laws in other states, has submitted an assessment of Colorado’s current recycling system to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE). The needs assessment completes an important step in the implementation of Colorado’s EPR law for packaging and paper products.

According to CAA, the needs assessment illustrates the program’s potential to more than double the state’s current recycling rate for the materials covered by the law.  

As the producer responsibility organization (PRO) for Colorado, CAA was required to select an independent third party to assess the state’s currently provided recycling services and evaluate recycling needs. Following a competitive procurement process, CAA selected HDR of Omaha, Nebraska, and Eunomia, with a U.S office in New York City, in August of last year for the project.

For the needs assessment, CAA, HDR and Eunomia analyzed the process from when packaging is collected curbside or at drop-off sites in the state to its management at transfer stations, material recovery facilities (MRFs) or compost sites to in-state and out-of-state end markets. Gaps in existing services also were identified, and opportunities to improve systems were evaluated with the goal of meeting and exceeding Colorado's statewide waste diversion rate.

Three future recycling service scenarios based on the cost and performance of the current system and potential for improvement are presented in the report. The three scenarios outline recycling and collection rates that Colorado can meet by 2030 and 2035, as well as the operating and capital costs to reach each scenario. Following a public comment period, CDPHE will select one scenario to recommend to the Joint Budget Committee of the Colorado Legislature for approval. The PRO will implement the approved scenario.

“We are proud to deliver the country’s first producer-led needs assessment for packaging and paper products,” says Neil Menezes, chair of the CAA Colorado Board. “The findings from this needs assessment will inform the development of the statewide recycling program plan and demonstrate a clear opportunity to improve recycling services for Coloradans.”  

The needs assessment report was prepared with support from Colorado-based businesses with expertise in recycling and waste management, CAA says. More than 100,000 data points were produced on Colorado’s recycling and composting services through 75 interviews and facility tours with Colorado’s recycling service providers, 150 municipal surveys, webinars, desktop research and ongoing conversations with other key stakeholders, such as local communities and schools, end markets for recyclables, environmental nonprofits, environmental justice groups and businesses.  

Colorado’s new statewide recycling program will be funded completely by the companies that supply consumer packaging and paper products sold into the state, and CAA must provide all Coloradans with equitable and convenient recycling services.  

According to the needs assessment, depending on where they live in the state, Coloradans have disparities in the opportunities they have to recycle packaging and paper products. Currently, about 20 percent of households in rural areas have curbside recycling services. With its EPR law, 55 percent of rural households could be provided curbside recycling, while others could benefit from improvements to drop-off collection. Additionally, areas of the state with the lowest income per capita should experience the largest increase in recycling access.

The report also found that only 22 percent to 28 percent of consumer packaging and paper products in Colorado are being recycled, while a producer-funded statewide recycling program has the potential to increase this recycling rate to 47 percent to 60 percent by 2035. 

An estimated 500,000 new households in municipalities will receive curbside recycling services through the new program based on the requirement that recycling collection be as convenient as trash collection in a jurisdiction. 

The statewide recycling program will create a common list of minimum recyclables to support consistent education to improve participation, reduce contamination at recycling and composting facilities and increase the recycling rate, the report notes, while investments in material recovery facilities (MRFs) are estimated to yield an additional 600,000 tons of capacity for all commingled recyclables annually, 60 percent more than what the system can manage today. 

According to the report, end markets also could be expanded in Colorado, particularly for glass, creating a closed-loop system. 

A detailed executive summary of the needs assessment and all documents associated with the Needs Assessment can be found on CDPHE’s and CAA’s websites.