Circular Action Alliance (CAA) has selected HDR, which teamed with sustainability consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting, to conduct the needs assessment for Colorado’s new Producer Responsibility Program. The state’s extended producer responsibility (EPR) law requires companies that supply packaging and paper products into Colorado to fund a statewide recycling system for those materials. The needs assessment will provide critical information about Colorado’s recycling infrastructure to inform a producer-funded statewide recycling program.
Enacted in June 2022, Colorado’s Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act requires companies that meet the definition of a producer under Colorado’s EPR law to fund and operate a statewide recycling system for those packaging and paper products through a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO). In May 2023, CAA was appointed as the PRO by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment to implement and administer the law. CAA subsequently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to parties interested in conducting the needs assessment required by law, and selected HDR and Eunomia.
“A thorough and accurate needs assessment is an integral first step in implementing Colorado’s new recycling program and ultimately increasing recycling rates for packaging and paper,” said Charlie Schwarze, Board Chair for Circular Action Alliance. “CAA is excited to work with HDR, Eunomia and the expert team they have assembled, whose local experience will enable us to develop a clear picture of the state’s needs as efficiently as possible.”
“This is a great opportunity to identify areas of improvement across Colorado’s recycling infrastructure and make the recommendations needed to evolve it into a state-of-the-art circular program,” said Doug DeCesare, project manager and global waste director at HDR. “Our team brings unique expertise in building comprehensive circular economy programs and a collective passion for advancing sustainable and responsible waste management practices.”
“Eunomia is excited to apply our experience working with municipalities, haulers and recyclers across North America and globally to understand the cost, access, and performance of existing services and to model future scenarios that will give all Coloradans access to recycling and to support local processing and end market development,” said Sarah Edwards, Eunomia Research and Consulting director.
HDR and Eunomia Research & Consulting’s circularity experts and facility design professionals have begun the comprehensive needs assessment with support from Colorado-based, service-disabled veteran-owned business Gryphon Environmental; Colorado-based, woman-owned business LBA Associates, Inc.; Colorado-based, woman-owned business Sandhill Environmental Services; and woman-owned business Start Consulting Group LLC; woman-owned business 4R Sustainability; and Bell & Associates, Inc. This has included outreach to key stakeholder groups, including producers, municipalities, waste haulers, recyclers, nongovernmental organizations, and other stakeholders to inform the Colorado needs assessment. To learn more about this process, please visit the Colorado page on CAA’s website. They are expected to complete the work by January 30, 2024, with findings helping to inform overall recommendations on how to enhance the state’s recycling system.