Boulder Recycling

Recycling at the Curb
Recycling at the Drop-Off Center

Recycling at the Curb

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

How Do I Get Service Started?

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.

  • BFI (303-286-6489)
  • One Way Trash (303-823-0556)
  • Town & Country (303-665-6811)
  • Western Disposal Services (303-444-2037)

What Can I Recycle at the Curb?

All haulers are providing a two-sort system, and are required by the City of Boulder to collect the following items:

Commingled Containers

In one bin or cart, all of the following items may be mixed together:

  • 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, or flatten pieces. 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, #2 or #5 on the bottom (please step on gallon jugs and bottles 1 liter or larger.)
  • Plastic screw-top jars with a #1 on the bottom

Click here for more information on guidelines for commingled containers.

Paper

The following paper items may all be mixed together into one bin or cart:

  • Newspapers and newspaper inserts
  • Corrugated cardboard and brown paper bags
  • Magazines & Catalogs
  • Phone Books
  • Larger Paperboard Items (such as cereal boxes, shoe boxes, large gift boxes, egg cartons, and paper 6 and 12-pack holders). Smaller items such as toilet paper rolls are only accepted at designated drop-off centers because paperboard material must be removed from the mixed paper by hand, and smaller pieces are more difficult to see and grab.
  • Office Paper/Opened Mail

PLEASE NO PLASTICS OTHER THAN THOSE LISTED
Questions? Call 303-444-6634

Click here for more information on guidelines for mixed paper.

Missed pick-ups?
Call your hauler.

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. Many items not collected at the curb can be taken to Drop-off Centers.
  4. If you are using a bin, weigh papers down with a rock. Remember, Boulder County winds are unpredictable.
  5. Step on it! Please flatten plastic gallon jugs and plastic bottles 1 liter or larger. This increases truck capacity, and helps prevent glass breakage.
  6. Please avoid breaking glass! Glass shards are difficult to sort by color, and even more difficult to market.

 


Recycling at the Drop-Off Center

Drop-Off Center Information

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:

 

Containers: all mixed together

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, or flatten pieces. 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 (please step on gallon jugs and bottles 1 liter or larger.)
  • Plastic screw-top jars with a #1 on the bottom
  • Plastic tubs & cups with a #2 or #5 on the bottom. (No lids.)
 
Office Paper/Opened Mail

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

Corrugated Cardboard and Brown Paper Bags

Please flatten boxes.

 

Magazines/Catalogs and Newspapers/Newspaper Inserts

Please put phone books in the bin for Phone Books.

NO other papers, boxes, bags or string.

Phone Books

Please keep separate from office paper and magazine/catalog categories.

 

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

Scrap metals of all types are accepted.

NO refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners or any other appliances containing freon are accepted.
NO oil
NO batteries
NO tires
NO pressurized containers such as propane canisters
NO wire fencing
NO computers, TVs, or other electronic equipment. Click here for electronics recycling.

Large scrap metal items should be taken to the scalehouse, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Mon. - Fri. Take an immediate left upon entering the facility and follow the signs for scrap metal and large trucks. Small scrap metal items are accepted 24 hours a day in the scrap metal bin.

For information on recycling freon-containing appliances, see the Guide to Hard-to-Recycle Materials.

 

Additional Information

For more detailed information on what can be recycled in any of these categories, please refer to the guidelines of the latest Eco-Cycle Times. You can print the center pull-out section for a convenient guide to recycling in all of Boulder and Broomfield Counties.

You can also visit the Frequently Asked Questions section of our website or call us at any of the numbers listed below.

 

 


Do you have an unusual item you don't want to toss in the garbage? Check out our Guide to Hard-to-Recycle Materials.