HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 4/5/2022 - Memorandum From Linda Hardin Re: Community Recycling Ordinance (Cro) Implementation UpdateEnvironmental Services
222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6600
fcgov.com/environmental services
MEMORANDUM
Date: March 30, 2022
To: Mayor Arndt and City Councilmembers
Thru: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Lindsay Ex, Environmental Services Director
Caroline Mitchell, Program Manager, Waste Reduction and Recycling
Kira Beckham, Lead Specialist, Environmental Sustainability
From: Linda Hardin, Senior Specialist, Environmental Compliance
Re: Community Recycling Ordinance (CRO) Implementation Update
Bottom line: This memo is an informational update staff committed to share in Q1 2022 about a key
deliverable for the Council Priority Make real progress on the road to Zero Waste, with focus on multi-
family and commercial recycling. The Community Recycling Ordinance (CRO), which brought recycling
service to multi-family and business locations in Fort Collins that did not previously have it, was
successfully rolled out in 2021. City staff conducted a compliance sweep in late 2021 and early 2022 to
ensure compliance with the ordinance and found the vast majority of locations were in compliance.
CRO details and roll out: The Community Recycling Ordinance (CRO) was passed in 2016 and came
into effect on June 30, 2021. The Ordinance requires waste haulers to provide all commercial and multi-
family properties with a minimum level of recycling service.
The CRO roll out included close collaboration with waste haulers and multi-faceted community outreach.
Haulers provided positive feedback that they felt supported and that the process went smoothly.
Community member feedback was largely positive with some concerns about government role in
requiring recycling service.
Variances and Compliance: A property can apply for a variance to the recycling requirements if their
site meets specific criteria (e.g., minimal recycling generation or self-hauling recyclables to a recycling
center). A site may also decline recycling bins but pay for the minimum level of recycling service.
City staff received 194 variance applications; 99 were approved.
Neighborhood Services’ Code Compliance staff and Environmental Services staff conducted a
compliance sweep of every multi-family and commercial location in Fort Collins in Q3 & 4 of 2021 and Q1
of 2022 and found ~125 properties without recycling. Staff will be contacting haulers about properties
without recycling in April and will follow the compliance process to bring those properties into
compliance.
Next Steps:
City staff will finalize the compliance process for the properties identified through the compliance
sweep during Q2 2022.
The Waste Reduction and Recycling team provides support to business and multi-family
properties through its Waste Reduction and Recycling Program (WRAP) and will continue to
support CRO success on an ongoing basis.