Sustainable Broomfield is partnering with Broomfield’s Action Committee on Environmental Sustainability, or ACES, to make it easier for those who want to compost to divert waste to bins at the Crescent Grange where it will be used to fertilize community gardens. ACES also launched its new Waste Zero Campaign — an initiative that includes projects, programs, policy recommendations and opportunities for public involvement and engagement. Achieving zero waste is a priority for Broomfield and is a key component of social, economic, and environmental sustainability, according to the city.
The website, Broomfield.org/wastezero, includes a survey residents can take on the importance of recycling and composting, access to those services, and feedback on polices to reduce, reuse and recycle. It also includes a link for residents to see which company hauls waste in their neighborhood and if they offer recycling or composting.
On the website is a list of waste diversion rates, which compares cities and the amount of solid waste not sent to the landfill, meaning the higher the number, the better. Boulder tops the list with 57%, followed by other cities including Louisville with 53% and Longmont at 36%. Broomfield diverts 12% of waste, according to the chart. The United States average is 35%.
The data comes from a 2019 study by the state of Colorado and put together by Eco Cycle and Recycle Colorado, said Andrew Valdez, deputy director of strategic initiatives with the City and County of Broomfield. Broomfield’s data wasn’t in the original document, but was added to the metrics later. “We engaged with CU Denver to do a greenhouse gas inventory and a waste stream study,” he said.
Valdez said the eventual zero waste plan will have recommendations that will have been vetted by the public, including the business community, and aimed at moving the needle on those diversion metrics. Broomfield is still early on in this campaign, which will include outreach to all sectors — residents, waste haulers, HOAs and businesses, Valdez said. What the city doesn’t want is to dictate what the public should do without feedback because there is no “one size fits all” approach.
To read the full story, visit https://www.broomfieldenterprise.com/2020/06/13/980877-2/.
Author: Jennifer Rios, Broomfield Enterprise
Photo: Jennifer Rios, Broomfield Enterprise