'Waste No More' Ballot Initiative Would Expand Recycling Efforts

DENVER (CBS4) - A grassroots organization is hoping to bring better waste management to the city of Denver. After garnering more than 17,000 signatures, the group Waste No More secured a spot on the upcoming 2022 November citywide ballot.

The initiative would require all Denver businesses, like restaurants, hospitals, apartment buildings, hotels, sporting arenas, and more to provide compost and recycling services.

"All of the little bit of waste that we throw away all adds up, from our industries to our businesses and our homes," said Ean Tafoya, a Waste No More organizer.

Data from the Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG) and Eco-Cycle shows that businesses in Denver generate about 55 percent of the city's municipal waste, but currently commercial businesses aren't required to recycle or compost. Organizers say the initiative is aimed at keeping a lot more of the city's waste out of landfills and slowing climate change.

"To have three sources of trash really, of waste in their space, and it gives 2 years to these businesses to create an appropriate plan that fits their budget, their business practices," said Hilda Nucete, the Waste No More fundraising director.

The initiative would also require all construction sites to properly dispose of waste and materials, and large events, like the Taste of Colorado, would also be required to provide recycling and composting bins on site.

"There are so many people who come and travel to Denver on a yearly basis for festivals, for events," Nucete said. "This is going to be one of the aspects of being able to make sure that we're consciously and sustainably growing our city."

Despite the fact that the city already offers many resources to help businesses recycle, Nucete and Tafoya believe a mandate would make for a more environmentally friendly city.

"We can't make the change if we don't talk to people about it first," Tafoya said.

CBS4 reached out to the Apartment Association of Metro Denver for comment on this measure.

A spokesperson released this statement:

It's not clear that a requirement is necessary, given that more than 80% of Denver's multifamily rental properties already offer recycling services, but with this initiative, the devil's in the details. First, Denver has no separate collection service for compostable materials, so the composting mandate would increase costs on housing providers and residents, without offering any economic or environmental benefits. Second, the initiative would create fees for renters that don't currently exist for single-family homeowners, thereby disincentivizing Denverites from renting multifamily units – the city's most environmentally efficient form of housing. Third, attempts to install recycling and composting chutes in multifamily communities with height and space constraints would be enormously costly, both environmentally and economically. And finally, the initiative offers no mechanism for preventing recycling contamination, a phenomenon that would, inevitably, make the recycling requirement ineffectual. This initiative is a costly and illogical attempt to address an issue that hardly exists.  

To learn more about this ballot initiative visit: https://www.wastenomoredenver.org/

To learn more about recycling in Denver visit: https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Recycle-Compost-Trash