Colorado's EPR Program
The short version: companies that make stuff now have to help pay to recycle the packaging it comes in. And that’s genuinely good news for your curb.
The companies that make
all the packaging?
They are paying for it now.
EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility. And while that is a mouthful, the idea is pretty simple. Colorado passed a law that says the companies manufacturing and selling packaged goods have to help fund the recycling system that deals with all that packaging when you are done with it.
Before this law, the cost of sorting, hauling, and processing recyclables was mostly passed along to households and local governments. Your trash bill quietly included costs that had nothing to do with your habits and everything to do with how much plastic a cereal box uses.
EPR flips that around. Producers now pay into a statewide recycling fund managed by a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO). That money goes toward improving recycling access, expanding what gets accepted curbside, and covering operational costs that used to land on your bill.
The result? More recycling. Better recycling. And no new cost to you. Earthwise is participating in this program across all the communities we serve, so when it comes to your neighborhood, we have got it handled.
Four steps.
One big win
for Colorado.
The EPR program is already in motion. Here is where things stand right now and what happens when it reaches your neighborhood.
Colorado passes the EPR Act
In 2022, the Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Act became law. It established a legal framework requiring producers to fund recycling and set a clear timeline for community rollout. Not a pilot. Not a proposal. The law.
Producers register and pay in
Any company selling packaged goods in Colorado above a certain threshold registers with the state and contributes to the Producer Responsibility Organization. That fund is what pays for expanded recycling services, including yours.
Earthwise brings it to your curb
We work directly with the PRO to expand recycling in every community we serve. Updated routes, expanded material lists, any new equipment, all covered by producer funding. You are automatically enrolled when your zone goes live.
You just recycle more, stress less
When your neighborhood comes online, you will get an updated list of what is accepted. Same pickup day, more items in the bin, no new charges. We will reach out before anything changes so you are never caught off guard.
We figured
you might
have a few.
Here are the ones we hear most. If yours is not on the list, just give us a call. We are real people and we pick up the phone.