Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Fund Grants Program

Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity (RREO) Fund Grant Program

The Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Act (HB 07-1288) created a recycling grant program (RREO Grant Program) to fund implementation projects that promote economic development through the productive management of recyclable materials that would otherwise be treated as discards. Projects that meet this goal are designed to implement source reduction, recycling, beneficial use/re-use, anaerobic digestion, or composting, for a wide variety of materials. Since its inception, the RREO Grant Program has awarded more than $5.3 million  to local governments, non-profit groups, schools and universities,  and businesses throughout Colorado to help develop recycling infrastructure. The grant program is under the authority of the Pollution Prevention Advisory Board  and administered by the Assistance Committee to the board.

Below are links to all current and past grant projects:

Fiscal year 2013 grant projects are listed below. 

  FY 2012    Projects began in July 2012 and all project deliverables are due June 30, 2013.

  FY 2011  

  FY 2010

  FY 2009 

City and County of Denver
Project Title: Denver Recycling Drop-Off Center: Increased Access to Recycling and Composting
Award: $49,300
Geographic Area: City and County of Denver

The Denver Solid Waste Management program will establish the first city-operated recycling and compostable organics drop-off center in southeast Denver. Grant funding will be used to make site improvements to the Cherry Creek Transfer Station. Modifications to the site will make room for additional containers and provide safe and easy access for facility users. This project will also include an education and marketing campaign directed toward area residents, particularly those who live in multi-family housing developments.

City of Durango
Project Title: Southwest Regional Hub Expansion
Award: $95,000
Geographic Area: City of Durango

The City of Durango’s existing regional recycling facility is sized to collect 10 tons of recyclable material, yet regularly receives substantially more material than it’s designed to efficiently process from its curbside collection program, four public drop-off locations, and material brought in from neighboring communities. The City will use grant funds to purchase a new conveyor system, which is one component of a much larger effort to expand and upgrade their recycling center. Through this retrofit, the City expects to achieve a local municipal solid waste diversion rate of 50% within the first year of the project’s implementation.

EDS Waste Solutions
Project Title: ETS Hub-and-Spoke Expansion
Award: $260,800
Geographic Area: Evergreen, Town of Fairplay, Gilpin County, Clear Creek County, Jefferson County

EDS Waste Solutions will develop a Hub-and-Spoke model for the foothills west of Denver. Grant funds will be used to expand their existing recycling center in Evergreen through the addition of a robust conveyor system. EDS Waste will also sustain an additional four recycling drop-off sites in the region.
 

League of Women Voters of Estes Park
Project Title: From Worst to First: Increasing Recycling and Waste Diversion in Estes Park
Award: $18,350
Geographic Area: Town of Estes Park
The League of Women Voters of Estes Park, in partnership with the town and Larimer County officials, will use grant funds to install 24 public recycling stations throughout Estes Park. Funds will also be used to improve signage at the town’s recycling drop-off site. The League of Women Voters will also develop a recycling education and marketing plan in conjunction with the infrastructure improvements.

SustainAbility
Project Title: SustainAbility Hub-and-Spoke 2012
Award: $26,210
Geographic Area: City of Arvada

SustainAbility will establish an all-inclusive recycling and compostable organics drop-off site on the western edge of Arvada. This new “spoke” will be staffed by individuals with developmental disabilities and will serve as an educational center and store for repurposed items. Grant funding will be used to purchase equipment for the new drop-off site and existing hub, as well as to purchase materials to launch a marketing campaign. 

Waste Management of Colorado
Project Title: Waste Management – Sterling Hub-and-Spoke
Award: $228,600
Geographic Area: City of Sterling

Waste Management of Colorado will develop a Hub-and-Spoke network in extreme northeastern Colorado by building a “spoke” location in Sterling that will accept curbside, drop-off, and commercial recyclables. Material will be stored, compacted, and ultimately transported to a hub in Denver where the material will be processed and marketed. Waste Management will partner with communities in the region to establish single-stream curbside recycling service, as well as expand recycling service to local businesses. Grant funds will be used to build the “spoke” facility.

We Recycle
Project Title: Southern Colorado Hub-and-Spoke Cooperation
Award: $293,086
Geographic Area: City of Pueblo, Pueblo County, City of Creede, City of La Junta, Canon City, Beulah

We Recycle has partnered with multiple organizations to expand upon their existing Hub-and-Spoke recycling network in Pueblo County to encompass most of the south-central and southeast areas of the state. Grant dollars will be used to upgrade and expand We Recycle’s hub facility in Pueblo County, as well as provide equipment and infrastructure improvements to their spoke community partners. There will also be an extensive marketing and advertising campaign.

WSB eRecyclers
Project Title: VERN
Award: $49,026
Geographic Area: City of Alamosa, San Luis Valley

This project expands upon a growing network of e-waste recyclers in Colorado, spear-headed by Blue Star Recyclers. WSB eRecyclers joins the Vocational Electronic Recycling Network (VERN) and will use grant dollars to implement an e-waste recycling program in Alamosa as a means to create local employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities. Funds will be used to expand WSB eRecycler’s existing facility to accommodate and equip an e-waste processing center. A marketing campaign is also included in the project’s scope, and funds will be used to offset a portion of the cost to recycle collected e-waste as a way to build support and interest in the new recycling program. WSB eRecyclers will look to partner with neighboring communities in the San Luis Valley by hosting mobile e-waste collection events.