Loveland leads state in recycling for 6th year

LOVELAND — Loveland leads the state for the sixth straight year in its recycling efforts.

The city said in a press statement that the community achieved a 58% residential recycling and composting rate in 2021, the only community with a rate higher than 50%. The overall Colorado recycling rate is 16%.

Second place went to Longmont with 42%. Boulder had a 37% rate and Lafayette was at 31%.

“Loveland’s program has always focused on getting recyclable materials into the circular economy by making it easy for our residents to do so,” Tyler Bandemer, city solid waste superintendent, said in a press statement. “Residents have eagerly adopted our recycling programs because of the accessibility, ease of use, and cost — from curbside recycling, Pay-as-You-Throw program and volume-based pricing, to our recycling center that accepts more than 25 items and sees more than 120,000 customers per year.”

The rankings are compiled annually by Boulder-based Eco-Cycle, a zero-waste advocacy group and one of the nation’s largest nonprofit recycling businesses, and the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, a statewide nonprofit group that makes environmental policy recommendations. The two groups’ research results are contained in the annual publication, “State of Recycling and Composting in Colorado.”The city also offers trash and recycling mobile app and webpage tools to discover recyclable items through the city or other ways to dispose of waste.

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