The city of Boulder, Colo., passed its Universal Zero Waste Ordinance that requires businesses to recycle and compost in 2016 and began enforcing the ordinance in 2017. Since then, the city has seen an uptick in commercial waste reduction.
In 2017, 2,485 fewer tons of trash were collected in the city and an additional 1,791 tons and 2,081 tons of materials were composted and recycled. Now, the city’s commercial waste diversion rate hovers around 43 percent.
