Per capita trash generation increases in southwest Colorado

The Durango (Colorado) Herald reports that residents of southwest Colorado are sending more trash to landfills despite the state’s overall increase in recycling. 

Each person in southwest Colorado is producing an average of 5.9 pounds of trash daily, which is more than one-third higher than the national average of 4.4 pounds daily. Only 14 percent of materials are being diverted from the landfill, the article says.

Despite this, the Colorado cities of Durango and Cortez have seen increased participation in local recycling programs. In 2015, the Durango Recycling Center diverted 19 million pounds from the landfill, according to the Herald. 

While the decline in revenue for certain recyclables, such as plastic and metals, has made budgeting difficult for haulers, Juri Freeman, president of the Colorado Association for Recycling (CAFR), told the newspaper the long-term effects may be beneficial.  

“I think it will make recyclers more efficient,” Freeman says in the article.