Recycling in Boulder

Curbside Recycling Service

Recycling in Boulder is collected by your trash hauler. The City of Boulder requires haulers to provide recycling services for each trash customer at no additional cost.

The following four haulers all provide service in the City of Boulder for curbside trash and recycling. Prices and types of recycling containers will vary. Call them to begin service and to determine your recycling day. If you have questions about your service or missed pickups, call your hauler.

• Allied Waste Services (303-286-1200)
• One Way Trash (303-823-0556)
• Town & Country (303-665-6811)
• Western Disposal Services (303-444-2037)

What can be recycled?

Boulder has now adopted single-stream recycling. Instead of diligently separating recyclables into two “streams” — mixed paper (newspaper, junk mail, etc.) and commingled containers (bottles, cans, etc.) — you can put these two streams together in one bin.

> Download single-stream recycling guidelines.

> Check out our list of the Dirty Dozen recycling contaminants.

Tips for curbside recycling:

1. Be sure to put your materials out by 7 a.m. on the correct day.
2. Please prepare materials correctly and only include items accepted through your program. Including additional materials jeopardizes recycling markets and makes processing more costly.
3. Please rinse containers. Do not crush or flatten containers.
4. Please avoid breaking glass. Glass shards are difficult to sort by color, and even more difficult to market.

Recycling at the Drop-Off Center

Location: 1901 63rd St. between Arapahoe and Valmont

• Turn North on 63rd from Arapahoe. Go over the train tracks
  and immediately on your left you will see the drop-off center.
• View a Map

Hours: Open 24 hours a day.

Phone: 303-444-6634

The Following Materials are Accepted at the Drop-off Center:

Commingled Containers

• Glass bottles and jars of any color (please avoid breaking glass)
• Aluminum cans (Do not crush or flatten cans.)
• Aluminum pie pans and aluminum foil (Ball all aluminum foil together into one large ball 2" or larger. No small, balled-up foil please.)
• Steel (tin) cans
• Metal jar lids
• Metal bottle caps
• Empty aerosol cans (no caps)
• Paper milk cartons/drink boxes/juice cartons
• Plastic bottles and jugs with a #1 or #2 on the bottom (OK to replace caps on EMPTY plastic bottles)
• Plastic screw-top jars with a #1 on the bottom (OK to replace caps on EMPTY plastic jars)
• Plastic tubs & cups with a #2 or #5 on the bottom. (No lids.)

Office Paper/Opened Mail

Blueprints, brochures, computer printouts, file folders, fax paper, greeting cards, letterhead, pamphlets, pastel colored legal pad paper, slick/glossy ads & brochures, stationery letters, white ream wrappers, white & pastel-colored paper, white & pastel-colored envelopes (windows envelopes OK)

NO shredded paper (accepted in Paperboard bin)

Corrugated Cardboard and Brown Paper Bags

Please flatten boxes.

Magazines/Catalogs, Newspapers/Newspaper Inserts & Phone Books

NO other papers, boxes, bags or string.

Paperboard Boxes/Low-grade Paper Products

Single-layer boxes, such as: cereal boxes (throw away inside bag), gift/shirt boxes, shoe boxes, 6-pack & 12-pack cartons/boxes.

Low-grade paper items such as: cracker boxes (throw away inside bag), hanging file folders, paper egg cartons, soap boxes and facial tissue boxes, paper shopping bags (brown bags go with corrugated cardboard), paper tubes (e.g., paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, etc.)

Shredded paper.

NO Kraft (orange/brownish) envelopes; Neon, fluorescent or dark-colored paper; Paper towels; Paper cups, photographs; Frozen food, ice cream & frozen juice containers; Photographs; Pet food bags.

Scrap Metal

As of August 1, 2011, the Boulder County Recycling Center will no longer accept scrap metal.The new City of Boulder location for scrap metal recycling is the CHaRM.