City Recycling Drop-off Facility
Hours: Monday - Sunday during daylight hours
Address: 1702 Riverside Avenue (address is approximate, the facility is in the parking lot north of Rivendell School located at 1800 E. Prospect)
Fort Collins residents and small businesses can recycle a range of materials at the City's full-service recycling drop-off facility. Opened on March 22, 2002, the one-acre drop-off site is open during daylight hours, seven days a week, year-round to the public. The City contracts with a local security company to patrol the site.
Materials collected at this drop-off site include:
- Container #1 & #2: corrugated cardboard (must be flattened) & brown paper bags
- Container #3: Paperboard, phone books & Low-grade paper
- Container #4: Office paper, magazines & junk mail only (no newspapers)
- Container #5: Commingled containers (bottles/cans/jars) (no glass)
- Container #6: Newspapers only
- Container #7: Glass bottles and jars only
Once the containers are full, they are transported to the Larimer County Recycling Center for further processing.
Please follow the guidelines carefully and only bring materials that are listed for recycling. NO Styrofoam, plastic bags, large plastic items such as buckets or toys or non-bottle/jar glass such as old windows and aquariums. There are no garbage receptacles at the site - please. NO TRASH.
The site features an educational kiosk with various panels of information such as:
- Recycling Right
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
- Buying Recycled
- Suggestion box
- Recycling brochures
The kiosk is made out of recycled products except for the information panels. The roofing is made from recycled garden hoses. The structure was built from decking (brown) that is made from recycled wood and plastic milk jugs, as well as recycled plastic lumber (gray).
Container #1 & #2
Corrugated Cardboard & Brown Paper Bags
The compaction system is self-activated by depositing flattened materials into a six-inch opening on each unit. For their safety, children are not allowed on this equipment's platform.
NO soiled, waxed or single layer cardboard (paperboard), pizza boxes, plastic bags, Styrofoam or trash.
Container #3
Paperboard-Phone Books & Low Grade Paper
Accepted items are:
- Cereal, cracker boxes
- Paper egg cartons
- Six- or twelve-pack beverage cartons
- Food-free pizza boxes
- Soft-bound books
- Brown paper/envelopes
- Gift, shirt, shoe, tissue boxes
- Phone books
- Paper bags, wrapping, tissue paper, packing paper
- Paper tubes
NO posterboard, milk/juice cartons, microwave dinner boxes, plastic/foil lined boxes/bags, pet food, charcoal or fertilizer bags, used tissues, napkins, or paper towels, waxed paper or boxes, Styrofoam, plastic bags or trash.
Container #4
Office Paper, Magazines & Junk Mail ONLY
NO newspapers, neon/fluorescent or dark colored paper, foil-backed paper, paper bags, packing paper, brown or tan envelopes, Styrofoam packing materials, gift wrapping paper, phone books, TYVEK envelopes, trash, plastic bags, strings or boxes.
Container #5
Commingled Containers (Bottles/Cans/Jars)
Accepted items are: (please rinse out and remove lids)
- Accepted items are: (please rinse out and remove lids)
- Steel/tin cans and empty aerosol cans
- Aluminum cans
- Metal lids/caps- remove from bottles and jars
- Plastic food & beverage containers stamped #1-#7 such as jugs, bottles, tubs, clear "clamshells", Nalgene bottles, etc. Lids OK.
NO Glass, Styrofoam, microwave dinner trays, deli food trays, plastic bags or motor oil/anti-freeze bottles, compostable "plastic-like" containers
Interested in learning what those numbers on the bottom of your plastic soda bottles mean? Plastic Codes (pdf).
Container #6
Newspapers Only
(includes all contents and inserts)
Why? Current market demand is extremely high for clean, separated newspaper to be delivered to newsprint manufacturing mills. Getting optimal market prices for our materials helps the City keep this facility open! This pilot project is for you if you are willing to separate your newspaper from other recyclable materials, and/or have access to volumes of newspaper.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Container #7
Glass Only
- Bottles & Jars CLEAN (rinsed, no dirt or rocks) and INTACT (not broken)
- All colors
- Labels ok
- Remove caps and lids.
Why? - By depositing glass only in this container you are helping us ensure that nearly 100% of the glass is fully recycled by following these guidelines on what is accepted and what is not.
Thank you for your cooperation.
NO contaminants such as: broken glass, ceramics, bake-ware, Pyrex, drinking glasses, window glass, mirrors, light bulbs, fish tanks or non-glass containers.
Also at Rivendell Drop Off Center...
Clothing, Textiles and Shoe Recycling
Red Apple Recycling takes used clothing, textiles such as sheets, towels, curtains and shoes. They are processed for various markets. In return, Red Apple Recycling provides grants to local schools.
Your Old Laptops Now Accepted
Bring your old, broken, or obsolete laptop and drop in the Greeenback Laptops container. Greenback, in partnership with the City of Fort Collins, will refurbish laptops where possible and donate 50% of proceeds to Poudre School District! Check out the press release.
Additional photos:
- Recycling container being attached to roll-off truck
- Recycling container being hoisted up onto roll-off truck
- Recycling container loaded on the roll-off truck
Background:
In 2002, the City Natural Resources Department created this centralized, full-service, publicly accessible drop-off center to help meet citizens' growing recycling demands. The other full-service facility in the area is Larimer County's Recycling Center, which is located at the County landfill several miles south of Fort Collins. The City's drop-off center property is leased from the Rivendell School. The City purchased the roll-off recycling containers and uses the services of a local contractor to haul the containers to material recycling facilities (MRF) to be processed and baled for market.
For more information, contact the City Natural Resources Department at 221-6600.