We Are Zero Waste Boulder
boulder’s zero waste future
Boulder is working to become a zero waste community.
This means reducing the waste we create and then reusing, recycling and composting most of what we throw away. Our goal is to generate new materials from 85 percent of our waste by 2025 rather than send that waste to the landfill.
Check out our Strategic Planuniversal zero waste
Recycle, compost or landfill. Everywhere you go.
See the Universal Zero Waste OrdinanceWhy Zero Waste?
Landfills are imperfect places to send our waste.
They’re designed to prevent water, oxygen and sunlight from entering, so very little of what’s buried there breaks down quickly—even materials marked “biodegradable” or “compostable.“
Our community gets very little value out of burying trash in the ground.
In fact, we pay to do it. It’s like a one-way street, where we purchase, consume and dispose of materials, never to see them again.
Zero waste is precisely the opposite.
A true zero waste system is cyclical, like nature: Everything we produce, consume and dispose of eventually goes back to feed the larger system at the end of its useful life. It’s a loop rather than a one-way street.
By choosing to reuse, recycle and compost, we add value to our “waste” and invest in the future of our community and our local economy.
Get Recycling and Composting TipsThe Snapshot
How close is Boulder to zero waste?
Boulder is a sustainability leader in many ways and we were one of the first cities to introduce curbside recycling, yet we still send 43% of our waste to the landfill. Other cities are doing better. And we can, too.
How are other cities doing?
Percentage of waste that is composted or recycled:
See all of Boulder's data on
the Boulder Measures Dashboard
How much waste does Boulder
recycle, compost and reuse?
Houses
APARTMENTS & Townhomes
Businesses
What’s the Plan?
How does Boulder achieve zero waste?
More than 100,000 residents and 10,000 businesses call Boulder home, and our daily actions shape our community. We’ve proven that by protecting natural habitats, creating a world-class network of bike paths and greenways, and passing the nation’s first tax designed to lower greenhouse gases. Achieving zero waste is the next item on our to-do list.
In the next few years, Boulder aims to:
Expand recycling and composting opportunities to all residents, businesses, employees and visitors.
Connect community members with unique zero waste services to help people reuse and recycle more.
Upgrade the Boulder County Recycling Center to allow more materials to be recycled.