Recycling in Mt. Crested Butte

Council hears an update from Waste Management

By Kendra Walker

During their March 4 meeting, the Mt. Crested Butte town council had the opportunity to hear from Waste Management on all things recycling. Waste Management public sector solutions manager Curtis Gardner provided the council with an update on the recycling program and operations and answered questions. 

Waste Management has 102 recycling facilities and recovers approximately 15.2 million tons of material a year nationwide. In 2024, the Town of Mt. Crested Butte recycled 93 tons. “We are the largest recycler in North America,” said Gardner. “We are finding opportunities to reuse as much material as possible.”

Gardner walked the council through the life cycle of recyclables once they are picked up from the curb. Local recyclables picked up from Mt. Crested Butte and Crested Butte are taken to the Grand Junction facility where they are sorted by type and baled into individual commodities. Recyclables that cannot be easily sorted in GJ are transferred to a Denver facility. 

Gardner explained that the individual commodities are then sold to secondary processers and manufacturers to be broken down and transformed into new material. In 2023, almost 80% of recyclables managed by WM went to domestic end markets, he said.

For example, plastic bottles can be turned into fiber that is used to create clothing. Waste Management works with REPREVE® fiber, a product of Unifi, Inc. to melt plastic bottles and transform them into a flake and then a chip that is heated and spun into fibers used to for clothing. 

Waste Management also works with H-E-B to break down plastic film such as grocery bags into pellets that can be turned back into trash bags. 

He noted that while aluminum doesn’t break down as does plastic, it can be recycled and put back on the shelf as a new aluminum can in as little as 60 days. 

Gardner said that what makes a curbside recycling program successful is that Waste Management needs to be able to safely collect, process and sell the recyclables. General items accepted by Waste Management include: plastic containers such as bottle, jugs and jars, metals such as aluminum cans; tin food cans and aluminum foil; paper such as newspaper, junk mail envelopes and paper cups; cardboard such as pizza boxes, paper bags and egg cartons; and glass items such as beverage bottles, condiment jars and salad dressing bottles. 

Mayor Nicholas Kempin asked why Christmas lights are not accepted in curbside recycling. “Like wire, rope and chains, which are also not accepted in recycling, strings of lights can get wound up in the sorting equipment at the recycling facility, which creates safety issues for workers and can damage machinery,” explained Gardner. Additionally, large items such as furniture cannot be safely picked up through Waste Management’s curbside service. 

“I would love to see more messaging around what to do if it doesn’t belong in recycling or the landfill,” said council member Valeda Scribner, noting that Waste Management’s messaging around trashing Christmas lights was not correct either. She suggested Waste Management explore more ways to communicate how folks should properly dispose of paint, e-waste and batteries.

Gardner said he would pass that feedback along to the communications teams as they create messaging for the town to share with residents.

He also explained that contaminated recyclables negatively impact the sorting process and recycling quality. “Contamination is trash placed in the recycling stream,” he said, noting that most communities’ recyclables are around 15-20% contaminated. Gardner said the number one source of contamination they see is bagged recyclables. “Our sorting process is moving quickly and there is no time or technological capability to open the bag and dump it out. When that happens, your recyclables end up going to landfill.” He said that Waste Management can typically sort out about 20% of contamination at their processing facility.

Gardner said that Waste Management plans to invest more than $1 billion in recycling infrastructure and technology through 2026. Last year, Waste Management broke ground on its new Denver East materials recovery facility which will have the latest and greatest sorting technology, and is expected to come online in 2026. 

Scribner asked if Waste Management has any initiatives to reduce emissions in their recycling process. 

Gardner said they are making upgrades in the GJ facility that will allow more sorting to occur at that location rather than traveling on to Denver. “We don’t control the end markets and so the travel distance for those are out of our control,” he said. 

However, he said that House Bill 22-1355 goes into effect in 2026, which will provide easier recycling access to all Coloradans, create financial incentives for companies to use more reusable and recyclable packaging and reimburse local governments on the costs to run recycling programs.