Recycling

From December 26 through January 21, Fort Collins residents can recycle their Christmas trees free of charge at various drop-off locations. No artificial trees & be sure to remove all items from the tree before dropping off.

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Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25%! The Holiday Recycling Guide includes helpful tips to use less and recycle more.

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In partnership with Waste-Not Recycling, the City is piloting a bulky rigid plastics recycling program! Residents can now drop off “bulky rigid” plastics, including outdoor furniture, 5-gallon buckets, and milk crates to the Hard-to-Recycle Materials Yard at the Timberline Recycling Center. The $5 entry fee to Hard-to-Recycle Materials Yard applies.

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Thanks to a recently installed solar panel system at the facility, the Timberline Recycling Center (TRC) is now producing more energy than it uses!  Construction of the system began in May 2018 on previously undeveloped land adjacent to the TRC. In July, the system began generating clean, renewable energy back to the community.  Based on energy usage data so far, the system is currently generating about double the energy needed to power the TRC.

Don’t let items like food waste, plastic bags, and single-use items contaminate your recycling efforts. Learn how easy it is to recycle right by keeping out The Contaminators.

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Bicycles previously collected as scrap metal at the Timberline Recycling Center’s Hard-to-Recycle Materials Yard may now find a better home than the scrap metal bin. The City of Fort Collins and the Fort Collins Bike Co-op are collaborating to rescue neglected, abandoned, or outgrown bikes and bike parts that still have some ride-ability left in them. Bikes and bike parts dropped off at the Timberline Recycling Center that can be reused will be taken to the Co-op, and unusable bikes and parts will be recycled. Please note that the $5 entry fee to the Hard-to-Recycle Materials Yard still applies when dropping off bikes.

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The effects of recent changes in global recycling markets are now being felt locally.  End-markets for low-value plastic items are insufficient to handle the amounts generated. Until further notice, plastic containers labeled with a #3, #6, or #7 in the chasing arrows will be landfilled.

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Putting the wrong things in the recycle bin can mean an entire load of recyclables gets landfilled! Incorrect items harm recycling equipment and slow down the recycling process, making recycling less efficient and more expensive. 

 Check out our updated Curbside Recycling Guidelines Poster for an easy to follow guide to what belongs in the bin.

Many items not accepted in curbside recycling can be recycled elsewhere. Find out more by visiting our A-Z list of where to recycle.

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Fort Collins residents have the option to have their yard trimmings collected at the curb. This service is offered by all three residential trash haulers from April to November. Your hauler will charge a separate fee for this service – please contact your hauler for additional details or to sign up.

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Recycling markets are facing challenging times, which makes the role of recyclers even more important. Click here to learn more.

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You can now bring larger loads of flattened cardboard for free inside the hard-to-recycle yard at the TRC Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This option is perfect for businesses or anyone with more than a few boxes because recyclers are able to conveniently deposit a whole load at one time. The existing cardboard collection bins with the everyday recycling will still be available seven days a week. 

Explore the services offered at the Timberline Recycling Center.

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The Timberline Recycling Center, located at 1903 S. Timberline Rd., accepts cardboard, paper, glass, and mixed bottles/cans, 7 days a week during daylight hours. A separate area of the Timberline Recycling Center is expanded to accept certain "hard-to-recycle" items and is open Tuesday - Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6:00 p.m..

Visit the Timberline Recycling Center page for more information.

Visit the Timberline Recycling Center

Fort Collins residents have a new option for recycling yard waste and wood waste locally. The Larimer County Landfill is now collecting clean lumber, wood pallets, tree limbs, tree trunks, and yard trimmings for a small fee.

This material is ground up and sent to a local company called Biochar Now, which creates nutrient-rich charcoal for use as a soil amendment. Learn more about biochar and its uses here. For more information about the Landfill’s new collection program see their press release.

See more options for wood & yard waste recycling on the City’s A-Z Recycling Page.

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Did you know that wasted food makes up about a quarter of what local residents throw in their household trash?

Fort Collins is throwing away food like it’s going out of style – and it just might be! A new campaign, launched in the summer of 2017, aims to inform and inspire the Fort Collins community by encouraging you to Save Your Food, for the sake of the environment and your pocketbook!

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Just like the paper, metal and plastic that you place in your curbside recycle bin gets made into new paper, metal and plastic, now this is the case for glass too! Learn more about glass recycling.

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