At a February city council work session, the city revealed that a new recycling plan, Wasteless COS, is underway in Colorado Springs. It’s a done deal. Wasteless COS’s goals are to provide “free” recycling to households who want it, provide education, establish curbside and drop-off services for organic materials, establish a governance framework, and implement policies that promote the reuse of construction materials.
The city and state are using smoke and mirrors to make you believe that your garbage company will offer recycling for “free”. Love recycling or hate it, you’re the one paying for it, thanks to the Colorado legislature and Governor Polis. The city of Colorado Springs is hitching its wagon to what’s bound to be another very expensive state green scheme. The consumer always ends up paying, and you’ll be on the hook for it until the end of time.
It’s probably not surprising to you that, following the ban on plastic grocery bags, the tearing down of functioning coal power plants, and the rah-rah push for electric cars, the state has figured out a way for you to fund recycling, too. They are looking to boost recycling rates within the state and are likely wringing their hands over how to reach California’s recycling levels.
It’s reasonable to assume that under this law, business expenses are passed on to people who buy goods and products. For those of you complaining about how expensive it is to live in Colorado, this is just another reason. If you buy products from places like Costco, King Soopers, or Amazon, you’re paying the dues. Companies shouldn’t eat this expense (nor will they!). It’s difficult enough to do business in Colorado these days, and many have given up and are heading to other states.
The Background at the State Level
HB 22-1355 established a Producer Responsibility Program (PRP) through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). It requires companies that sell products packaged in materials such as paper and cardboard to pay annual dues to a statewide recycling system for the recycling of those materials. Companies with over $5 million in sales or that use more than 1 ton of packaging material annually are required to pay producer responsibility dues. Companies are also required to keep records and report data to document compliance.
Circular Action Alliance, an independent non-profit, was designated as the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to manage the PRP, whose budget this year is $215-267 million.
HB 22-1355 will also allow recycling collectors to provide recycling services to residents at no cost. Private garbage collection companies will have the option to enter into a contract with the Circular Action Alliance that compensates them for recycling collections. At that point, the garbage collection companies will no longer be allowed to charge their customers for recycling and will instead be reimbursed by the Circular Action Alliance with state funds. Resident participation in recycling will be voluntary. Residents will be required to contact their garbage collection provider to obtain the no-cost recycling services. Garbage collection companies that participate (not mandatory) will be reimbursed 100% of the cost for recycling collections- trucks, fuel, administrative support, etc.
Local governments may receive a financial benefit for education and outreach. The city of Colorado Springs is eligible to receive compensation starting in June 2026.
We reached out to see what amount of compensation the city will receive for citizen recycling education, and the spokesperson for Wasteless COS replied:
“The proposal is currently being developed, and the funding details will be finalized as part of that process. Because Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is new, the overall process is also evolving, and we are continuing to learn as we move through it. Once funding is confirmed, we plan to work with service providers, organizations, and community members to determine the cadence and approach for the education efforts.”
The response indicates that even more non-profit organizations and the city will have their hands in the cookie jar very soon.
What’s ahead for Colorado Springs Residents?
Wasteless COS was funded with a $350,000 state grant from Colorado Circular Communities Enterprise (C3) to examine garbage habits in Colorado Springs. The trash and recycling carts of 286 households were examined for 5 days over the spring and fall of 2024 to see what residents throw away. About 25% of the trash was organic material, such as food scraps and yard waste. Cardboard accounted for almost 34% of recycling carts. They did community outreach to gather input and received 800 responses. Springs Taxpayers United recorded a virtual meeting in October 2025 for our readers to participate in the outreach.
Citizens reported distrust that recycling ends up where it’s supposed to go. Councilmen Dave Donelson and David Leinweber also made comments during the meeting. Both admitted to paying for recycling through garbage collection companies, but neither was confident in where the materials ended up.
Donelson asked questions about data on contaminated recyclables. Presenters estimated that 14% of recyclables are contaminated and end up in landfills. Currently, there is no actual tracking of the amount of Colorado Springs recyclables that end up in the landfills. Anyone want to bet it’s more than 14%? Rest assured, your Amazon boxes are probably getting a first-class ticket to the nearest landfill!
The City of Colorado Springs has since set a community-wide recycling goal of 37% diversion by 2045, with 41% for residential and 34% for commercial. The current overall rate is 16%.
Our Concerns
- A non-profit, Circular Action Alliance, has been tasked with managing the program. Non-profits do not have to comply with open records laws.
- Garbage collection companies may not be honest in their business practices. Will the recycling end up where it’s supposed to go? Again, there will be no transparency for citizens, as garbage collection companies also are not required to comply with open records laws.
- This has the potential to be a cash cow for many non-profit organizations, the city, and the garbage collection companies. What prevents garbage collection companies from making it mandatory for customers to have both regular garbage and recycling services?
Our Bold Prediction
This probably isn’t really a bold prediction… we envision the state will quickly blow through the funds it has collected for the program. They will soon be back with their hands out for more money, as that is standard practice at the state level. Just look at how many other state programs have gotten out of hand in terms of cost- Medicaid, “free“ preschool, and the wolf reintroduction program are a few examples of Colorado state government underestimating how much pie-in-the-sky programs cost. This program is going to get way out of hand in the blink of an eye. That’s the thing about their lofty ideas- eventually, you run out of other people’s money. We have no doubt the state will dig in its heels and seek additional avenues or increases to fund the existing law.
Reach out to the mayor and city council to politely share your opinions. They are in on it, with their plans to accept state funds. It’s more bloated, big government, and that’s not the direction Colorado Springs should be going.
Mayor Yemi Mobolade yemi.mobolade@coloradosprings.gov
Lynette Crow-Iverson Lynette.Crow-Iverson@coloradosprings.gov
Dave Donelson Dave.Donelson@coloradosprings.gov
Kimberly Gold Kimberly.Gold@coloradosprings.gov
Nancy Henjum Nancy.Henjum@coloradosprings.gov
David Leinweber David.Leinweber@coloradosprings.gov
Roland Rainey Roland.RaineyJr@coloradosprings.gov
Brian Risley brian.risley@coloradosprings.gov
Brandy Williams Brandy.Williams@coloradosprings.gov
2 thoughts on “The Price of ‘Free’ Recycling: Unpacking Colorado Springs’ Wasteless COS Program”
Vote NO on HB-22-1355, Wasteless COS, free recycling. Disposal should be left in the hands of the individual citizen to decide how and who to deal with. Don’t take control away, that leaves too much future changes and charges to the citizens out of our hands. Investigate where the current disposal companies dump their loads and let us know if they need accountability for misdeeds.
Am familiar especially with Recology in Sonoma and Marin counties in CA where family live. A municipal program which includes trash. Recycling. and composting. Customers can collect compost at multiple sites for their gardens and also made available to parks and community gardens where greatly cuts down on need for water as well as building healthy soil. Fort Collins has a comparable program. In CS we have over ten companies driving very heavy trucks on our streets and alleys often doing considerable damage after rain or snowfall. For me, a reasonable municipal service improving our community.