Eco-Cycle, www.ecocycle.org
General Recycling
I found this great site called Eco-Cycle, which is run out of Boulder. Click here to visit the site. At the top, right hand side of the page, you can click on your local recycling center to find out all about at the curb recycling and what is accepted at the drop-off center. I didn’t realize that there are many more items accepted directly to the center than at the curb! I’m excited to get my kids involved in this since the center requires you to sort your items and place them in the appropriate bins. Just another thing that we can do to keep busy this winter.
Hard-to-Recycle Items
If you look to the left of “Find Your Local Center” you’ll see a drop-down menu for hard-to-recycle items. I was amazed at how many businesses actually accept things like that for reuse (over eleven for bubble wrap alone). 11/09
Local Recycling, Broomfield and Area
I’ve heard people mentioning that the recycling center in Broomfield had a makeover last winter (new stairs, better accessibility and a simpler sorting system). Since we have our recycling picked up at our house every other week, I haven’t gone over to check it out. However, a friend of mine mentioned something to me that makes me want to go: tree limb recycling and free mulch. For those of you who are new home owners or those just looking to make some yard improvements, this is really exciting! You can drop off your tree and bush limbs/branches for recycling at the drop-off on Saturdays from 8am-5pm and on Wednesdays from 1pm-5pm. (Any drop-offs at the Broomfield Recycling Center are only available for Broomfield residents). Even though those are the only drop-off hours, they have free mulch available 24/7. The mulch pile isn’t gated, so you can pull up and take as much as you want whenever you want. To see more about the Broomfield Recycling Center, click here.
In Westminster there are multiple locations throughout the city where you can drop off your recyclables and they are all single stream (meaning you don’t have to separate paper from glass from plastic - just dump it all in!). They also have a monthly tree limb recycling program that runs on the last Saturday of the month from 8am-12pm March through October. They also have free mulch available on that day only while supplies last. Both of these services are only available to Westminster residents with a valid ID. To see more about the Westminster Recycling Center, click here.
Another thing that I learned a few years ago is that there are many household items that are considered hazardous waste and should not be thrown in the garbage or rinsed down the sink. Some of these things include batteries, bleach or ammonia cleaners, fertilizer, weed spray, auto products, caulks/glues/cements and the list goes on. The biggest one to affect our family has been batteries - we go through a ton of them with our kids toys! In Broomfield there are two events each year (one in April and one in September) where you can dispose of these, otherwise there is a center in Boulder that is open year round. To find out more about the center, click here.
Here are a few more links to local recycle centers:
