Philosophy

More than just city policies, more than just community programs, more than just talk. Being sustainable means considering the environmental, financial, and human impacts of all of our decisions. It means recognizing new challenges that result from finite resources. It means considering the long term impacts of our actions. The City of Fort Collins offers nearly 60 different programs to help you reduce your impact on the environment and help you save money too.

GREEN PROGRAMS

Looking for tips on reducing your utility bill? Want to know how to conserve water without killing your lawn? Need more information about recycling? The City of Fort Collins offers nearly 60 different programs to help you reduce your impact on the environment.

• Air Quality
  • Anti-Idling – education campaign to stop unnecessary idling in vehicles.
  • Lawn Mower Rebate - cash rebates and in store credit for purchasing an electric or reel lawn mower from participating retailers
  • Radon Testing and Education - radon information is required at the time-of-sale of a residential real estate transaction. Low cost test kits are available through the City. Homes built in 2005 or later must incorporate radon-resistant construction methods.
  • Stop at the Click – reminders to stop at the click when filling up your gas tank so that you don’t over-fill.
  • Take Care of Our Summer Air – tips to reduce ozone pollution
  • Wood Smoke Ordinance – City code states only clean, dry, untreated wood may be burned in a wood stove or fireplace.
• Energy Savings
  • AC Load Management Program (PDF 543KB) – participating customers receive $20 in bill credits over the summer and help reduce the City’s electric load by agreeing to have their air conditioners cycled on and off during hot days.
  • Green Energy Program – residents can purchase clean, renewable energy for an additional 1 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
  • Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® (HPwES) – a whole-house, comprehensive approach to home improvements that can solve comfort problems, improve indoor air quality and help eliminate moisture problems while lowering energy bills.
  • Hot Shot for Water Heaters – participating customers receive monthly bill credits ($50/year) and help reduce the City’s electric load by agreeing to have their electric water heaters cycled on and off during system peaks or times of high use.
  • LED Holiday Light Discounts and Recycling – recycle old, traditional holiday lights and receive discounts on more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly LED light strands.
  • REACH Weatherization Assistance – eligible residents can apply for free home weatherization services that may reduce energy use 10-40 percent.
  • Refrigerator and Freezer Recycling and Rebates – get a $35 bill credit for recycling inefficient, working refrigerator or freezer.
  • Residential ENERGY SCORE Home Audit – a fee-for-service program that assesses the major factors that determine how much energy a home uses for space heating and water heating.
  • Residential Lighting Program – the City works with local retailers to offer discounts on CFL bulbs and various special events throughout the year.
• Green Building
  • Colorado New Home Choices – This Web site, co-sponsored by City of Fort Collins and E-Star Colorado, includes a wealth of information about new home choices related to energy efficiency, comfort, healthy indoor air and durability.
  • Green Building Resolution - Fort Collins City Council voted to raise the bar on energy efficiency and environmental design by adopting a resolution stating all new construction of city-owned buildings will achieve LEED "Gold" certification. Fort Collins became only the third city in the nation to set this high standard, joining Scottsdale, AZ and Portland, OR.
  • Green Building Roadmap - Green building means better buildings for people, prosperity and the planet. Green buildings demonstrate a reduced carbon footprint, energy efficiency, water conservation, waste minimization, resource-efficient materials, pollution prevention and improved indoor air quality to conserve natural resources and improve environmental quality—both indoors and out.
• Recycling and Waste Reduction
  • Christmas Tree Recycling – recycle Christmas Trees at certain City locations. Trees are processed into garden mulch that will be available to residents in the spring.
  • Composting Worm Exchange - a voluntary, decentralized network of vermicompost enthusiasts and experts willing to exchange resources and information
  • Curbside Recycling - Fort Collins requires haulers to provide weekly unlimited recycling services for each residential trash customer as part of their basic trash collection service.
  • E-Waste Ordinance – The City of Fort Collins passed an ordinance banning e-waste from the residential waste stream.
  • Leaf Exchange – locate leaves for mulching or composting in your yard or garden, or find locations to recycle some of your leaves.
  • Pay as You Throw - Fort Collins’ volume-based trash rates system, called “pay-as-you-throw,” provides direct economic rewards for people who reduce the amount of waste they generate. The less you throw away, the less you pay.
  • Recycling Center - Fort Collins residents and small businesses can recycle a range of materials at the City's full-service recycling drop-off facility.
  • The Great Sofa Roundup - students, long-term residents or social agencies can drop off or claim a sofa for free during this one day event.
  • Toilet Recycling – due to a partnership between the City of Fort Collins and a local nonprofit, residents can recycle porcelain toilets and urinals for free. The Streets department crushing operations site recycles the toilets and uses the crushed porcelain as road base.
• Transportation
  • Adopt a Bikeway – residents can adopt a favorite bikeway route and report obstructions and debris along way to keep your commuter route clean!
  • Bike Library – instead of books, we lend bikes. Rent a bicycle for an hour or a day!
  • Bike Parking – Fort Collins provides more than 350 bicycle parking racks at locations around the City and bike lockers at parking structures.
  • Bike to Work Day – June 25! – join hundreds of fellow commuters and bike to work; enjoy free breakfast stations throughout Fort Collins.
  • FCBikes – the City’s bicycling program providing biking information, resources, and promoting bicycling as a mode or transportation.
  • Safe Routes to School – a program to promote the safety and conditions needed for students to use alternative transportation to and from school.
  • Transfort – clean, safe and economic public transportation for seniors, kids, persons with disabilities and the general public. All buses are operated with bio-diesel or compressed natural gas fuels.
    • Bike-n-Ride Service – a service that combines bicycles with transit to help people go the distance. It’s an environmentally-friendly, economical, and healthy way to commute to work or expand horizons during recreational outings. All Transfort buses are equipped with racks that hold up to 3 bicycles.
    • Discount Bus Passes - Transfort offers inexpensive passes; Annual Adult: $154, Annual Disabled & Medicare: $25, Annual Senior (60+ years old): $25, Monthly Pass: $25, and Booklet of 10-Ride Tickets: $9.
• Water Quality
  • Free Water Quality Testing in Homes – the safety and quality of drinking water in Fort Collins is monitored continuously.
  • Industrial Pretreatment Program – program that works with businesses and industries to ensure the waste they discharge do not interfere with treatment processes.
• Water Conservation
  • Clothes and Dishwasher Rebates – Residential customers can receive a $25 rebate for purchasing an ENERGY STAR® qualified dishwasher and a $50 rebate for purchasing an Energy Star high-efficiency clothes washer.
  • Sprinkler System Audits – a program, offered June through August, which provides free audits including a visual inspection of each sprinkler zone to identify problems, test how water is being applied, create a custom watering schedule, and provide information about the lawn’s seasonal water needs. The goal is to conserve water through properly functioning automatic sprinkler systems.
  • Xeriscape Tours and Workshops
• Youth Programs
  • Children’s Water Festival – Each spring, approximately 1,400 third grade students and their teachers learn about water through hands-on activities. This is the longest running festival in the state.
  • Dr. WaterWISE – Dr. WaterWISE visits with classrooms to analyze students' individual water habits, discuss ways to reduce water use and teach students that water is a precious resource in Fort Collins' arid environment.
  • Energy Rules – Students take charge of their schools' energy savings and even earn the school money. Students explore energy alternatives through hands-on activities.
  • Look Up and Live - an entertaining, 30-minute presentation for neighborhood groups, schools, clubs and businesses that uses a scale model of a typical overhead power line to demonstrate proper ways to stay safe.
  • WaterSHED – Trained professionals lead activities where students learn about wetlands in the classroom and experience sunlight, soil, water, plants and animals in nearby wetlands.
• Business Programs
  • Business Environmental Program Series - A series designed to increase knowledge about the latest technologies and awareness of City environmental services and programs.
  • Climate Wise - a voluntary, city-run program that is dedicated to helping local business reduce their impact on the environment and tackle modern-day business challenges that impact bottom lines.
  • ElectriConnect - Free online access to your electric meter data to manage electricity use and control energy costs
  • Energy Efficiency Program – designed to support building efficiency improvements, save money and lower electric bills. Cash incentives are provided for upgrades that reduce electric demand and energy use.
  • Green Energy Program – businesses can purchase clean, renewable energy for an additional 1 cent per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
  • Integrated Design – financial incentives and free technical support to those interested in delivering high-performance buildings that exceed building code requirements for energy performance.
  • Key Accounts Customer Luncheons – These luncheons are held several times a year and are designed to provide input to customers regarding electric, water, stormwater and wastewater rates, policies and other pertinent information.
  • LIGHTENUP – provides cash incentives for lighting retrofits in existing buildings, helping reduce electric bills and improve lighting quality.
  • PassFort Program – employer-based bus pass program that enables employers to purchase “bulk rate” annual Transfort bus passes.
  • Stormwater Business Best Management Practices (BMP) Program – Fort Collins Utilities strives to inform businesses of their impact on our local water quality by letting them know the storm drains (or gutters) in our streets carry water into a network of pipes that lead to the Cache la Poudre River—and not to a water treatment facility. This program aims to ensure business practices do not affect our water quality.
  • Test Ride Transfort - program to aid the area workforce in discovering the benefits of transit commuting. Area businesses can “test” transit interest and demand among their employees before committing to joining the PassFort program.
• Miscellaneous Programs
  • Conservation Ordinance – The City’s Resource Conservation Code promotes the conservation of water, soil, electric, and natural gas resources. The code preserves the right to use clotheslines, solar panels, compost bins, and xeric landscaping.
  • Free Flicker and Bat Boxes – the City gives away flicker and bat boxes to promote habitat and reduce conflict with flickers.
  • Residential Environmental Program Series – Free public educational series addressing environmental programs and issues.
  • Natural Areas – The City’s Natural Areas are naturally yours! Explore and help care for these special places. With 36,000 acres and 45 miles of trail at over 40 natural areas you won’t have to go far to find a getaway near you!
    • Guided Educational Programs – Learn more about the wildlife, history, and nature of the City’s natural areas with guided hikes led by Master Naturalists.
    • Natural Area Enhancement Grants – assistance for landowners in the implementation of their (privately owned, but city certified) Natural Area management plans.
    • Native Plant Demonstration Garden - 1745 Hoffman Mill Road
  • ZILCH Loans – zero interest loans to fund the addition of insulation, replace a furnace, repair or replace leaking water lines, remove old wood stoves, add radon mitigation systems, and other conservation efforts.

City's Efforts to be Green

Just like other organizations in the Fort Collins community, we're committed to "walk the talk." The City's Action Plan for Sustainability (PDF 476KB) addresses seven specific areas of City operations to further advance the idea of sustainability within the City organization.

2008 Highlights

• Northside Aztlan Community Center became first full service community center in the nation to earn LEED Gold certification
• Climate Action Plan (PDF 1.3MB) adopted by Council establishes new greenhouse gas reduction goals and recommends strategies to obtain them
• Fort Collins received more than $13 million in federal, state, and local funding to launch a Zero Energy District, known as FortZED.
• City facility lighting retrofit to save on energy costs