Denver falls behind on diversion goals despite expanded programs

More than a year after the city of Denver rolled out its volume-based waste collection program in January 2023 to encourage recycling and composting, the city remains behind on its diversion goals.

As reported by the Denverite, an online news organization, the city aims to reach 50 percent diversion by 2027 and 70 percent by 2032. Before the new program began, Denver residents recycled or composted about 23 percent of their waste. Today, it’s about 26 percent.

“We’re not quite on track for all of that,” Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) Executive Director Amy Ford said at a Budget and Policy Committee meeting in October.

Under the new system, the city charges residents based on the size of their trash bins. The city also increased access to weekly composting and recycling collection, which should be fully implemented citywide by the end of 2025. Previously, the city only picked up recycling once every two weeks.

Ford says Denver’s diversion rate is “trending in a positive direction,” but that improvements aren’t happening fast enough to hit the 2027 goal. Particularly, Ford says, the city’s composting program rollout has been slowed by low staffing and an outdated vehicle fleet.

In January, the city expanded its program to the cities of Montbello, Green Valley Rand and Gateway, or Denver’s Solid Waste Collection District 4, which adds 19,000 residents to the program.

Because of staff and vehicle shortages, the city has experienced a slight increase in disrupted waste pickups. To keep things on track, the Denverite reports that the city has started outsourcing waste pickup to private companies.

“Even with those, we are still struggling a bit," Ford says.

 DOTI now is focusing more on how to improve customer service.

“We’re not satisfied with how we’re doing it, frankly,” Ford says. “We’re not satisfying a service that people are effectively paying for. And how do we ensure that we get better?”