When The Buff Restaurant in Boulder moved to its new location, the restaurant reused and re-purposed many of the materials that were already there.
Re-purposed materials included the wood from the previous restaurant’s booths which was made into new booths, and some of the new wood walls were created by turning around the existing bead board. In 2014, the Buff received PACE certification in Zero Waste and earned recognition from Western Disposal for diverting more than 95 percent of its waste into compost and recycle. The Buff hopes that its waste consciousness extends far beyond its doors and compostable containers.
Every $1 invested in Zero Waste programs in Boulder County gives $3 back to the community.
Nearly 86,000 jobs in Colorado are generated by the recycling, reuse, and remanufacturing industries. Many of these jobs are within Boulder County.
Boulder County’s in-house single-stream recycling effort saved the equivalent emissions of taking 62 cars off the road in a year.
Boulder County’s compost collection at the county-operated Nederland Transfer Station, collected 12.5 tons of food and yard waste from mountain communities in its first year, equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 130 seedling trees grown for 10 years.
Boulder County’s Partners for a Clean Environment works with businesses to encourage sustainable purchasing habits that reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from manufacturing and transportation.
Currently, Boulder County residents and businesses divert about 35% of materials from the landfill.
Since 1997, the county has distributed $1 million in funding to more than 200 local zero waste projects undertaken by communities, non-profit groups, schools and universities, and businesses. This popular annual funding program helps to move our communities, large and small, towards zero waste by funding a wide-variety of equipment, education, and planning needs.
Boulder County’s internal waste diversion program has reached a 71 percent diversion rate.
The Boulder County Hazardous Materials Management Facility can help by recycling, or properly disposing of, hazardous materials.
Yes! Nederland’s transfer station now accepts compostable bags full of organic material.
Check out Boulder County’s informative videos about composting, recycling, and hazardous waste.
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In Boulder County, 43 schools are participating in Green Star Schools, representing 52% of the public schools within the county, and have successfully diverted 205 tons of compostable material and 115 tons of recyclable material.
With support from county grant funding, the Town of Superior purchased recycling containers to be used at community parks, ball fields and trails, and reduced waste by a third.
The Hazardous Materials Management Facility (HMMF) serves more than 13,000 households and 200 businesses, and handles more than 1 million pounds (500 tons) of hazardous materials each year. Hazardous waste diversion from households is up 40% since it opened.