Mattresses and Refrigerators and Televisions, Oh My!

On a damp, spring Saturday in North Boulder, staff from Eco-Cycle and the City of Boulder’s Climate Initiatives department joined resident coordinators and the property manager from the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park to safely discard of hard-to-recycle materials — 4,142 pounds of it, to be exact.

The fruit of several weeks of shared planning, the City of Boulder-sponsored collection day brought the CHaRM, the Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials, to the doorsteps of the once underserved community.

From scrap metal and bicycles, to refrigerators, air conditioning units, mattresses and a variety of electronics and more, the pickup event offered Ponderosa’s residents access to the CHaRM’s recycling services, free of charge.

“We are continuing to approach the city’s programs with an equity focus,” said Ellen Orleans, a sustainability coordinator for the City of Boulder and co-organizer of the event. “Ultimately, the goal is to pilot a new program that can bring more awareness and access to all residents, especially those neighborhoods that have been historically underserved.”

To identify the city-owned mobile home park as the location for the pilot project, Climate Initiatives staff collaborated with Crystal Launder from Housing and Human Services.

Launder chose Ponderosa, in part, because of the efforts of two community-minded residents there: Kathy Schlereth and Victor Lemus. Along with property manager Greg Gustin, Schlereth and Lemus worked diligently to explain and publicize the event within the community.

Neighbors came together to help each other load and properly dispose of old, unused materials and Eco-Cycle was more than happy to join the team effort.

“We are really eager to partner with the community to host collection events like these,” said Justin Stockdale, Business Operations Director at Eco-Cycle. “We’re always looking for ways to make the CHaRM more inclusive and accessible to all.”

20 CHaRMing Years

Boulder boasts a long-standing commitment to conservation and environmental stewardship, and organizations such as the CHaRM are part and parcel of the community’s storied sustainability work. Providing an invaluable service to the community, the CHaRM has helped Boulder residents to recycle the un-recyclable since 2001.

The CHaRM is housed under the umbrella of services provided by Eco-Cycle, which is subsidized by the City of Boulder and is one of the oldest and largest non-profit recyclers and Zero Waste organizations in the country. In fact, it was Eco-Cycle volunteers who first brought recycling to Boulder in 1976.

The first facility of its kind in the nation, the CHaRM collects materials that are typically excluded from curbside recycling pickups, such as electronics, freon appliances and plastic bags. The facility then recycles and or reuses these materials.

“Proper disposal of these types of materials is an important step toward both achieving our city’s zero waste goals, as well as preserving our environment and the precious resources contained within it,” said Orleans.

Computers and televisions, for example, often contain toxic substances like lead and mercury, which can contaminate groundwater when landfilled. By disposing of these types of materials through the CHaRM, community members can rest easy knowing that their household items will be safely processed.

“Thanks to our partnership with the Ponderosa community, together, we were able to keep thousands of pounds of recyclable materials out of the landfill and come together to keep our neighborhoods beautiful, safe and resilient,” said Orleans.

Removing Barriers to Entry

Ninety percent of what goes into Boulder’s landfill is recyclable or compostable. And while Boulder was one of the first cities to introduce curbside recycling, we still send 43% of our waste to the landfill — and access is part of the equation.

Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, not everyone in our community can easily access the CHaRM’s unique services.

Some could encounter difficulties due to the facility’s limited operating hours. Others might face financial barriers due to the entrance fee or fees levied to recycle items such as mattresses and electronics. Those who do not own a car, as well as older community members and those with mobility limitations might struggle to transport their large and heavy items to the CHaRM facility.

Through this pilot program, the City of Boulder and the CHaRM are working to build meaningful partnerships to remove barriers to access for these conservation-minded community members.

“We want to do everything in our power to help those who want to recycle to do so,” said Orleans. “Saturday’s event was the first — of hopefully many — to ensure equitable access to our recycling services for all of our Boulder residents.”

Learn more about the CHaRM.