Food For Thought: Will Composting Programs Increase in Colorado?

Americans produce a whopping 120 billion pounds of food waste on an annual basis, throwing away more food than any other country in the world. In fact, discarded food is the single largest component taking up space inside U.S. landfills. Things being thrown away range from edible foods that have gone bad, products past their expiration date, and inedible parts of organic items, like peels and cores.

To help combat this negative trend and reduce overall food waste, cities across the country have started to implement composting programs, including here in Colorado. For example, Boulder began a curbside compost collection program in 2009. By 2021, data revealed that approximately 44 percent of Boulder's food waste had been diverted - proving the initiative had already made a major impact within just a few years.

Get our free mobile app

Denver is the latest city in the Centennial State to embrace this beneficial concept. In July, Colorado's capital rolled out a brand new compost collection service, available to residents who wish to participate. Every new compost customer receives a guide with their green cart that explains what kinds of things can be thrown away, as well as what's not accepted.

Three different size compost carts are available. These range in price per month based on the selected bin size. Residents are encouraged to toss food scraps, yard debris, and plant trimmings into the compost carts.

Joshua Hoehne/Unsplash

In addition to Boulder and Denver, several other cities around the country, such as Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, have instituted similar composting programs. The number of participating places continues to grow, as more people understand the negative impacts caused by food waste.

Fort Collins has several compost companies that provide services to single-family homes, but as of now, a city-wide program does not exist.

Ideally, more communities across Colorado will continue to adopt similar composting programs and help fight the problem of food waste in America.

10 Compostable Items in Colorado

Toss these things straight into the compost bin!

It Is Illegal To Throw These Things Away In Colorado

There are 14 items that should never be thrown out with the trash in Colorado. Check out this helpful list of hazardous waste reminders that should never go in the garbage in Colorado. While some of these items can be turned in on local hazardous waste collection days, six items on this list can get you into big trouble if you are caught dumping them at a landfill.

Six Things Coloradans Buys But Always Throws Away

We are wasteful people, there's no doubt about it, but sometimes it's just really hard not to be. There are things we buy and use -- but just end up throwing so much of it away. I asked our listeners to help us create a list of things that fall into that category - and here's what we came up with.

Filed Under: Colorado, social

Categories: Articles, Food+Drink, NoCo Life