The city is getting close to a final plan for implementing the Waste No More initiative approved by Denver voters in November 2022, which requires local businesses to provide composting and recycling services, mandates that construction waste be diverted, and puts a recycling and composting requirement in place at large events.
Denver officials rolled out the Waste No More Task Force in March to ensure that the language on the ballot is enforceable, and the group has come up with recommendations that were presented at an August 17 town hall by Blake Adams, zero waste and circular economy manager for Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency (CASR). “For years now, the City and County of Denver has had a low rate of diverting waste away from the landfill,” Adams said. “And we’ve never had a citywide requirement for recycling or composting in a commercial or residential setting.”
In addition to Waste No More — which targets multi-family residential buildings with eight or more units and businesses — the city also has the new Expanded Waste Services trash system for smaller residences. According to its Sustainable Resource Management Plan, construction and demolition account for 36 percent of waste; industrial and commercial waste make up 46 percent; and residential waste totals 18 percent.