Need help with recycling please! (Lakewood, Littleton: disposal, to live, moving)

[Mach50]

Originally Posted by randomparent

Call your trash hauler for instructions, but our practice has been to flatten boxes, cut them to manageable size if necessary, bundle them, and leave them at the curb next to the recycling bin. The recycler has never refused to take them.

Interesting where I live anything outside the bin is left behind.

[randomparent]

Pro Disposal in Centennial, same location as the OP. No problems with bundled cardboard boxes for us, in or out of the bin. We don't even have an official blue recycling can or bin. I just printed out a recycling symbol and taped it to a standard gray plastic garbage can from Home Depot.

[browndog77]

Thank you for the information. We ended up taking what we could to the WM facility in Englewood. It is a very small drop off area at the entrance to a busy facility. We had a hard time getting the truck near the dumpsters without getting into an accident. I will look into requesting an additional bin; since our trash pickup is arranged by the HOA, I am not sure who/how to do this, though. We are renting at a condo right now that requires trash and recycling bins to stay inside the garage until trash day. We have crammed a lot of our stuff into the garage to avoid paying for a storage unit, so there is very limited space for all the recycling. We are probably still going to have to take recycling each week, just to save room. At least if we have an extra bin, there won't be so much overflow.

I was just really surprised in this day and age that it was so hard to figure out where to take recycling. I started by going to the city of Centennial website, but all it said was:

"Trash removal and recycling services are provided by several private companies in Arapahoe County. We recommend consulting your Homeowners Association, Civic Association or neighbors and consider using the same collection company to decrease the number of trash trucks driving on your streets and to minimize the days each week when trash is collected in your neighborhood."

That and a link to a page that really had nothing to do with recycling, just a bunch of "green" services. NOT helpful at all. Of course, our property manager- Denver Rentals- was absolutely no help. They didn't know anything about trash collection, and told us to contact the HOA, but didn't provide any means to help us contact the HOA... Actually, my husband tells me that they told us to "Call the trash company to see. You should see the name of the trash company on the side of the trashcan." Suffice to say, there was nothing at all on the side of the trashcan. But that is a story for another post...

Thanks for your help!

[randomparent]

For typical recycling needs, curbside pick-up is sufficient for households, and presorting is unnecessary. As I understand it, all of the Denver metro trash companies contract with Alpine to provide recycling services, even if they use their own trucks to perform curbside pick-up. You can find more information about Alpine's single-stream program and what items can be recycled here. Hard to recycle materials, like plastic bags and #5 plastics, are accepted at Whole Foods.

There are bins for clothing and tennis shoes at various locations around Centennial. Look for them in shopping centers around town. Alternatively, place torn or stained clothing in a bag labeled "Rags" and drop it off at Goodwill. There is one on Arapahoe Rd. in the shopping center west of Yosemite.

Also, I note that you are currently renting a condo or apartment. Sadly, sometimes those types of complexes do not offer the same services available to owners of SFHs. Call the HOA or management company to find out more.

[Lost Roses]

Another thing to remember is that the city of Centennial has only existed since 2001, before that we were unincorporated Arapahoe County, and all services were contracted out. Though Centennial has made great strides we are still lacking some basics that older cities provide like annual pickups of hard-to-recycle materials. Englewood even offers leaf pickup from the curb once each fall. Going to a transfer station is the best option now and they occasionally offer hazardous waste round ups at reduced or no cost but as you mentioned, traffic and ease of use is an issue.

I agree with RandomParent that a large bin should be sufficient for normal recycling every other week. Maybe you can recycle some of the stored materials in your garage and make room for the bin?

[mic111]

Originally Posted by browndog77

I will look into requesting an additional bin; since our trash pickup is arranged by the HOA, I am not sure who/how to do this, though.

Call Waste Management directly to request an additional bin. I gave you the link for recycling in my previous post.
Recycling | Colorado | Waste Management

See the phone number to the right where it says
Contact Information

Customer Service

Email: cscolorado@wm.com
Phone: (800)482-6406 Hours of Operation
Mon-Fri 7:00am-6:00pm Sat 8:00am-noon

[tcbelvis]

Find a place like this down there. They don't pay for cardboard but they do for other stuff! My new favorite place once I clean house and start selling crap.

And they give $$$ for aluminum cans better than giving them to waste management!

http://actionrecyclingcenter.com

[nele]

When I moved here and had a ton of boxes to recycle, I called to see if the recycling pickup would take them, there were so many. I was told to flatten them, but in fact felt bad about there being so many...I ran down and gave the guys a small tip, maybe $10, since they had extra work. At that time I told them I'd probably have stacks of boxes each week for awhile just to warn them and they were fine with it. Trash truck guys around here all seem to be very nice people!

Not apropos to the OP's question, but since we are "talking trash" :-) : Waste Management bought our local trash company and promptly raised rates. Then, a few months later they added a fuel surcharge, not just once per charge period, but twice since two trucks (trash and recycling) came through! I have since cancelled the recycling service, and now take mine to the free local drop off behind King Sooper's (in Evergreen). For me it's a great solution since I go there a couple of times a week anyway. Plus I have a really good bead on how much recycling my house generates.

[mettler]

Hi -

I am having trouble finding a recycling center in which I can drive to and drop off my recyclables. We currently live in Littleton - outside of the city down deer creek canyon rd, and there is no recycling available out there. The closest place I can find to drive to is on the northern side of Denver. Does Littleton not have a recycling center?

thanks

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by mettler

Hi -

I am having trouble finding a recycling center in which I can drive to and drop off my recyclables. We currently live in Littleton - outside of the city down deer creek canyon rd, and there is no recycling available out there. The closest place I can find to drive to is on the northern side of Denver. Does Littleton not have a recycling center?

thanks

What exactly are you trying to recycle?