Colorado not very green (tell me I'm wrong) (Denver, Colorado Springs: transplants, apartment complex)

[DrDog]

So I've recently moved to Colorado. So far it's a wonderful place. But, I really expected colorado to be "green" and I mean ecologically green. But I haven't seen that, at least here in Colorado Springs. Hopefully Denver is better. This is what I've noted so far.
Hardly anyone recycles. Maybe 10% of homes put out recycle bins. Even in my apartment complex people don't use the free recycle dumpster.
No apparent yard waste collection for mulching.
Minimal water conservation and a lot of waste. Everyone has a lawn and lots of common area lawns with lots of water going into the street even on rainy days.
So what's up with Colorado?

[davebarnes]

Much higher in my neighborhood in the Socialist Paradise of the City & County of Denver.

[pikabike]

Originally Posted by DrDog

So I've recently moved to Colorado. So far it's a wonderful place. But, I really expected colorado to be "green" and I mean ecologically green. But I haven't seen that, at least here in Colorado Springs. Hopefully Denver is better. This is what I've noted so far.
Hardly anyone recycles. Maybe 10% of homes put out recycle bins. Even in my apartment complex people don't use the free recycle dumpster.
No apparent yard waste collection for mulching.
Minimal water conservation and a lot of waste. Everyone has a lawn and lots of common area lawns with lots of water going into the street even on rainy days.
So what's up with Colorado?

Maybe the new transplants don't know where/when/how to recycle where they live.

[BarryK123]

When I lived in PA, we got PAID by our garbage company for our recyclage (by weight, volume, or both; I don't recall). It wasn't a lot, but it was something.

Here, we are CHARGED an additional fee to recycle. When I first inquired about this, I was told that it costs them more to collect the recycled stuff than they get paid by the companies that recycle.

In capitalism, if there's no financial incentive to do something extra, it's not going to happen.

Re green, I've been driving an electric car for 2 1/2 years. I don't have a lawn (midrise condo dweller), so I'm doing my part...

[Phil P]

There's some people who are crazy about protecting the environment in CO, but there's a whole lot more who are happy to drive their trucks 400 miles into the mountains every other weekend... Denver has the most polluted zip code in the country and has pretty lousy air quality and it doesn't seem like the city is doing much to solve either of these issues, despite Denver being one of the greener areas of CO. All in all though, I think CO is about middle of the road when comparing it to other states. The US as a whole has a lot of work to go to clean up it's environment.

[NW Crow]

CS is probably on the low end of front range for this. Both for government infrastructure and don't tell me what to do attitude.

[brown_dog_us]

Have you been to Boulder yet?

[EastwardBound]

Here in Loveland, every household has a recycle bin, provided by the city, and seemingly every household puts them out on trash day. Meanwhile, the cost of the trashcan goes up by the size, encouraging people to use the provided recycling bin.

[jim9251]

Don't judge all of Colorado about what happens on the front range. Several western slope towns recycle, and encourage "green living".

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by jim9251

Don't judge all of Colorado about what happens on the front range. Several western slope towns recycle, and encourage "green living".

My observations of Ridgway on the Western Slope certainly support that.