Denver Delivers on Weekly Recycling

Published on January 27, 2023

DENVER – The City and County of Denver made history this month, rolling out weekly recycling collection services for its customers for the first time ever, making it easier for people to reduce the amount of trash they send to the landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and act on climate change. Another significant service enhancement comes later this year, with the rollout of weekly composting service starting in the summer.

“We are shifting how we think about waste in the city to focus on sustainable waste management practices and are moving that needle in the right direction with weekly recycling,” said Adam Phipps, Executive Director of Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. “In 2022, we rebuilt our routes to pave the way for expanded services, to ensure we could reach every household, every week, on time and deliver on what the community expects from us as a city.”

As we are rounding out our first month of expanded services, we are excited to report that DOTI has steadily increased its on-time collection rate, with 93% percent of routes completed on schedule. Additionally, the city is already seeing a positive shift toward waste diversion with approximately 30,000 households requesting cart exchanges since the ordinance passed last summer.

Billing — Customers can expect to see their first quarterly invoice now through March for trash collection service, ranging from $9–$21 per month. Before invoices go out, customers will receive login information to create an account on Denver Utilities Online. There, customers can manage their services — including requesting a different cart size and setting up paperless billing and autopay. Financial assistance is available for eligible Denver residents.

Cart Exchanges — If you fill up your trash cart every week, we recommend waiting for your compost service to begin before you downsize. If you always have extra room in your trash cart or are an existing compost customer, you can request a smaller size now through pocketgov.com. You can also downsize when you create your online DUO account. Customers will receive a credit of $3 per month, so $9 total, on their quarterly bill until their compost cart arrives and they can divert more of their trash.

Find more information on our website at www.denvergov.org/expandedcollection.