For the first time in more than a decade, the City of Longmont will once again be hosting a Hard-to-Recycle Event for Longmont residents from 9 am to 3:50 pm on Monday, October 11 through Saturday, October 16 and Monday, October 18 through Friday, October 22. This two-week long event is by reservation only; those interested can make reservations online to drop-off their hard-to-recycle materials at Green Girl Recycling, 21 S. Sunset St. in Longmont. The event is open only to Longmont residential trash customers, and participants will be required to present a recent City utility bill and proof of identification when dropping off their materials. Most residents will be able to recycle all of their materials free of charge; those who wish to drop off more than the allowable amount of materials will be able to do so at a reduced cost.
Hard-to-recycle items are those materials that are recyclable, but cannot go in the City’s curbside recycling cart for standard bi-weekly pick-up. The Waste Diversion Center on Martin Street already accepts many of these materials, such as plastic bags, bubble wrap, automotive oil, cooking oil, rechargeable batteries, white block Styrofoam®, and large and bulky scrap metal, at no cost to Longmont residents. For other hard-to-recycle items, Longmont residents typically have to find a local business that accepts these materials or go to the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM) in Boulder. The Longmont Hard-to-Recycle Event is intended to make it easy and convenient for Longmont residents to recycle their hard-to-recycle items.
Examples of items accepted at the Longmont Hard-to-Recycle Event:
- Computers, monitors, keyboards, cables
- TVs- Flat screen and the box (CRT) TVs
- Printer cartridges
- All other electronics with a cord, such as toasters, printers, etc.
- Hard cover books and manuals
- Toilets, sinks, porcelain and ceramics
- Bicycle tires and tubes
- Big durable plastics – children’s pools, plastic play structures etc.
- Glassware – clear glassware, water, wine, beer, etc.
This event reflects the Longmont City Council’s commitment to creating a more sustainable community through enhanced services such as recycling and composting. The Council had originally targeted 2022 to launch Hard-To-Recycle events but the City chose to host the event sooner. Unlike previous hard-to-recycle events that were held on a Saturday for a short window of time, which created long wait times, this event will utilize an online reservation system, allowing residents to select a 10-minute reservation window over 11 days that is convenient to them, avoid long car lines, and facilitate social distancing during drop-off. Those who arrive without an appointment will be asked to return after making one. Free document shredding will also be available. Residents interested in participating can make an online reservation. Those residents without internet access can call the City’s Customer Service Center at 303-651-8416 to make a reservation. Although this event is for Longmont residential trash customers only, businesses that wish to manage their hard-to-recycle materials can contact Green Girl and schedule services directly through them.
The City is partnering with Green Girl Recycling for this event. Green Girl Recycling is a Longmont-based, woman-owned business founded by Bridget Johnson in 1998. Originally focused on providing recycling services to Boulder County’s mountain communities, Green Girl has continued to expand its services as it acquired other local recycling businesses. The company specializes in front-door recycling programs personalized for each customer as well as one-stop, secure shredding services, electronics recycling, and hard-to-recycle items services. Now serving Boulder, Larimer, and Weld Counties, the Green Girl Recycling team has a passion for keeping as much out of the landfill as possible.