Eco-Cycle is a proud signer of the Basel Action Network's (BAN) Pledge of True Stewardship, the world's most rigorous environmental and social justice criteria for recycling e-waste. Our materials are recycled domestically and responsibly. Find out more below, and watch the "60 Minutes" segment about the illegal dumping of e-waste in developing countries.

Funded by city of Boulder Trash Tax dollars

Materials accepted and fees What's new? Collections from businesses Hours and location Why is it important to recycle electronics?

Why is there a fee? Why recycle electronics through Eco-Cycle? Will the public always have to pay for recycling? What happens to my hard-to-recycle materials? When will CHaRM add new materials? Special collections outside of Boulder

 

 

 

 

 

CHaRM Prices and Guidelines Printable version

Attention CHaRM Recyclers: New $3 Facility Fee Helps Keep CHaRM Alive

Eco-Cycle charges a $3 fee for every vehicle coming to the Eco-Cycle/City of Boulder Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials (CHaRM) to recycle materials. The fee is in addition to the recycling fees that apply to specific materials like electronics, bike tires and porcelain.

Why?
The CHaRM is financially subsidized by three partners: the city of Boulder, Eco-Cycle and dedicated recyclers like you. In these difficult economic times, the city of Boulder and Eco-Cycle are not able to cover the cost increases for CHaRM services without you, our third partner.

The benefit of the car fee is economic and environmental. Some visitors to the CHaRM come in a virtually empty car just to drop off a bit of white block foam or a small bundle of plastic bags. We don’t want the environmental gains of the CHaRM to be negated by the carbon emissions of vehicles, so our hope is that the fee will encourage recyclers to economize their trips to the CHaRM by storing their materials until they have one big load.

THREE WAYS TO SAVE on the car fee at the CHaRM:
We know times are hard for you, too, so we have three suggestions for saving on the facility fee.

• Frequent Recycler Card: Purchase this virtual card that gives you five trips for $10, saving $1 per visit. The card doesn’t expire, and we keep a record of it at the CHaRM, so it’s Zero Waste and you won’t lose it.
  
• Carpool: Pool your materials together with your neighbors’ and friends’, so you only have to pay one facility fee.
  
• Bike it in: If you are one of the many recyclers who visit us on a bike, you will not be charged a facility fee. The CHaRM is right by the junction of the Goose Creek Path and the Boulder Creek Path, so it’s easy to get to us. (Fees to recycle specific materials, such as electronics, bike tires and porcelain, will still apply.)

There will be no charge for customers dropping off only single-stream recycling or scrap metal.

Don't see your item on the list? Check out our Hard-To-Recycle Guide or call Eco-Cycle at 303-444-6634. (Call 303-444-6634 for prices on large quantities from businesses.)

Payment: Checks and cash preferred. MasterCard, Visa and American Express also accepted.

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What's NEW at the CHaRM?

Hold TV manufacturers responsible for their toxic products

Televisions contain 3-8 pounds of lead and a host of other heavy metals and synthetic compounds that threaten human and environmental health if not properly managed. It’s time to hold TV manufacturers responsible for their discarded products, just as they are in other countries of the world—including Japan, Taiwan and throughout the European Union. Learn which manufacturers are being responsible and which are not--and tell these ones to "Take Back My TV."

 

Does Eco-Cycle collect hard-to-recycle materials from businesses?

Yes! Eco-Cycle offers CHaRM on the Road, a collection program for hard-to-recycle materials from businesses. For most large collections, our hauling rate is $65 per hour from when our truck leaves our gate until it returns. Pricing for material processing is based on weight rather than unit for large quantities of computer equipment from businesses. Use the unit prices above to estimate these weight-based fees. Collection service is also available for materials for which there is no processing fee, such as plastic stretch wrap, hardcover books and athletic shoes. See the full list of accepted materials above. Please call 303-444-6634 for more information or to schedule a collection.

Businesses may also sign up for regular hard-to-recycle materials collections. Find out more.

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What are the hours and location?

HOURS: Open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (Closed for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labor Day, July 4th, Memorial Day, and New Year's Day.)

DIRECTIONS: The CHaRM is located at 5030 "Old" Pearl St. in Boulder - this is not the old drop-off center. To get there from Pearl Parkway, turn north on 49th Street and go to the end. Turn right on "Old" Pearl and then right at the Eco-Cycle sign on the mailbox. Drive into the center and up to the yellow window. Map to CHaRM

Find directions with Mapquest

HARD-TO-RECYCLE ROUNDUPS: Eco-Cycle offers CHaRM collection in other communities in Boulder County anywhere from once to four times a year. View our calendar of events for upcoming collections or sign up to receive an email update when a Hard-to-Recycle Roundup is coming to your community.

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Why is it important to recycle electronic equipment?

Televisions and computers each contain 3-8 pounds of lead, and like most electronics, can contain a host of other toxic substances such as cadmium, mercury and arsenic. These toxic substances could contaminate groundwater when landfilled.

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Why is there a fee?

There is a fee for recycling most electronic items. All items must be disassembled before they can be recycled, a labor-intensive process that often requires handling toxic substances. The funds are also used to offset the cost of collection, storage and marketing of the materials.
"Free" recycling events usually have a hidden, and toxic, price. On Nov. 9, 2008, "60 Minutes" featured a segment about a Denver recycler that illegally shipped containers full of electronic scrap to a small village in China after collecting the materials at numerous "free" recycling events. The items and their toxic components (lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, PVC, etc.) were being dismantled in horrific conditions, poisoning the town's water supply, scarring the workers and filling their lungs with toxic fumes. Watch the video (right) and read about BAN's e-Steward's Initiative and find out if your recycler is a true "e-Steward."

 

Why recycle electronics with Eco-Cycle?

Eco-Cycle is a proud signer of the Electronic Recycler’s Pledge of True Stewardship. This means we will not work with processors who export hazardous electronic scrap to developing countries. After being sorted for reusable equipment, your electronic scrap (e-scrap) will be safely processed within developed countries and will also be kept out of landfills, incinerators and prison recycling operations. This Pledge is the world’s most rigorous environmental and social criteria for the dismantling and recycling of e-waste.

 

Will the public always have to pay for recycling materials like this?

Not if we can help it. In other countries, manufacturers (including U.S. multinationals) are required to pay for recycling their toxic product rather than putting that burden on customers, government or non-profits.

Eco-Cycle is part of a coalition working to create similar "take-back" programs in the U.S. If U.S. companies participate in Take-Back programs abroad, why not here? Until businesses begin to design products for recycling and disassembly and offer free "take-back" programs, recyclers like you, local governments like the City of Boulder, and nonprofits like Eco-Cycle will continue to bear the cost of doing the right thing.

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What happens to my "hard-to-recycle" items?

• Books: Children's books in good condition are distributed to Boulder County nonprofits to give to their clients. Other books of value are sold for reuse. For the remaining books, the spine is sheared off and the paper is recycled.
  
• Electronic Equipment: Working computers that are Pentium III and above are donated to the Jared Polis Foundation. Their C3 program helps bring computers to the underserved communities of Colorado by refurbishing donated computers and connecting them with potential community group recipients. Some higher-end monitors and printers are also reused. Obsolete electronics go to certified demanufacturing facilities in the USA where they are disassembled and recycled.
  

• Cell Phones: Cell phones will be either refurbished and reused, or dismantled into their constituent parts and recycled.
  

• Plastic Bags with a #2 or #4: Plastic bags are being processed and marketed to companies that produce the leading alternative to wood decks by using recycled plastic bags, stretch wrap from businesses, and wood waste such as wood chips, shavings, and sawdust.
  
• Ink Jet and Laser Jet Cartridges: Ink jet and laser printer cartridges are sent to a company that is able to refurbish and refill most brands. Those that are not reusable are recycled when possible.
  
• Textiles and paired shoes: Textiles brought to the CHaRM facility will be reused whenever possible, with much of them going to African communities in need. Materials that can’t be reused will be recycled as rags. A good method to determine whether the CHaRM will accept your textile item is to ask yourself whether it could be made into a rag (with the exception of underwear, socks and shoes).
  
• Athletic Shoes: Shoes that are worn beyond reuse are turned into a material used to resurface athletic fields, tracks and playgrounds.
  
• #6 White Block Foam: Block foam packaging is sent to a polystyrene recycler who uses it to make products like CD cases, light switches and cover plates, and other household items made from polystyrene. Rigid foam insulation is turned into new rigid foam insulation for building foundations.
  
• Fire Extinguishers: After the retardant is safely discharged, the metal cylinders are recycled.
  
• Cooking oil: Cooking oil is used by a local manufacturer in the creation of biodiesel.
  
• Big Durable #2 Plastics: Your big durable #2 plastics will be responsibly recycled in the U.S. and made into recycled plastic railroad ties. This very durable, long-lasting product can be used in place of virgin hardwood lumber railroad ties injected with creosote. Hardwood lumber takes a very long time to regrow, and creosote contains several toxic and carcinogenic chemicals, which can leach into the environment through contact with soil or water.
  
• Toilets, Sinks and Urinals: These porcelain materials will be sent to a company that grinds up old concrete into a material that can be used in place of gravel road base in road construction projects.

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Does the CHaRM have plans to accept additional materials in the future?

The Center hopes to add at least one new material for recycling every year. Our dedicated recyclers receive an e-mail once or twice a year when we add a new material.

Eco-Cycle partners with local communities to provide annual or more frequent collections of hard-to-recycle materials typically collected only at the CHaRM. View our schedule of upcoming special collections and learn more about how you can help at these events. Sign up to receive an email when we have an event in your community.

Through the CHaRM, Eco-Cycle is keeping large volumes of often toxic materials out of the landfill, ensuring that non-traditional recyclables are recycled responsibly in the U.S., and making sure these valuable resources are staying in production. Last year, the CHaRM recycled more than 900,000 pounds of electronics, which equates to 36 semi-trailers full of electronics scrap! We also collected 26 trailers full of block foam, 30,000 pounds of plastic bags and 140,000 pounds of paper from books not suitable for reuse.

Support the recycling of hard-to-recycle materials with a tax-deductible donation today!

Partners for Responsible Recycling

The Camera and ListenUp have joined Eco-Cycle through our unique Partners for Responsible Recycling (PRR) program. These businesses understand that they are the source of a specific waste flow in our community, and, as responsible community members, they have partnered with Eco-Cycle to help create a recycling opportunity for these materials at the CHaRM. Learn more about our Partners for Responsible Recycling program.

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The CHaRM is
funded by the city of Boulder Trash Tax Dollars, Eco-Cycle and YOU.
We thank you for your support and for your concern!