Hate painstakingly sorting recyclables? Well, if you live in Grand Junction, that’s about to become a thing of the past. Western Colorado’s largest city has started transitioning customers to a single-stream system, meaning all recycling can be tossed together into one tidy bin.
That even includes glass, which under the previous city recycling program could not be picked up at all and instead had to be dropped off at a recycling center.
The easier, revamped system will be paired with a giant new recycling center. Sitting on 10 acres, the 58,000-square-foot facility will not only serve Grand Junction but also communities and private companies across the region. It’s set to open by the end of the year.
This recycling renaissance is aided by a nearly $10 million grant from Colorado Circular Communities, a statewide program that encourages recycling, reuse and other sustainable practices.
Angela French, Grand Junction’s recycling and waste reduction supervisor, explained the goal is to make recycling so easy that items like tin cans, glass bottles and recyclable plastics stay out of the landfill.
The new facility will “really ensure the long-term success of recycling here in our region,” she said.
As it stands now, French explained that Western Slope companies and cities that haul recycled materials have to take their loads as far as Denver, Salt Lake City or even Las Vegas. “And so having this recycling hub is a really big deal because haulers will finally be able to offer recycling to residents in other communities at an affordable rate,” French said.
Not only could it bring down costs for current regional customers, she went on, the proximity could encourage more companies to start offering recycling services in the future.
“We really look forward to providing these services not only to our community, but offering this opportunity for neighboring communities and advancing recycling here in the state of Colorado,” French said.
Grand Junction recycling customers will see several changes as the city converts to single stream. Currently, many of the city’s back alleys are filled with large plastic recycling bins: yellow ones for paper and blue ones for plastic and metal. Residents will only keep their 64-gallon blue bin — which will now be used for all recycling — with the option for opting into a larger size, free of charge. Pickup will increase to once a week, instead of every other week.
The city plans to transition all customers to single stream by the end of 2027 and will continue to announce future expansion of recycling services.
Several communities across Colorado already offer curbside single-stream recycling for residents, including Denver, Fruita, Durango, Montrose and Longmont.
