Denver’s residents send more than 190,000 tons of trash to the landfill every year, enough to fill a train all the way from Denver to Fort Collins, more than 70 miles long. All this garbage leaves Denver with more than just a trashy reputation—we’re missing big opportunities to reduce climate pollution, build healthy soils that grow healthy food, recycle our waste and create local jobs. With a 20 percent recycling rate, Denver is at the back of the pack compared to other U.S. cities.
So what’s in all this trash that‘s filling up Denver’s landfill? It’s a lot of leaves, grass clippings, branches and wasted food. More than half of what residents throw away is biodegradable materials that could have been easily composted in a green bin instead of ending up in the trash.