There’s a new way to help keep Southern Colorado beautiful, and it won’t cost you anything extra! Mountain Disposal announces that beginning November 1, 2026, we’re offering no-cost residential recycling in Southern Colorado for eligible customers in participating service areas.
As a family-owned business serving Southern Colorado since 1989, we care about the communities we call home. From our mountain landscapes to our small towns and rural neighborhoods, we all have a part to play in keeping our environment clean. Making recycling more accessible is one more way we can work together to protect the place we love.
Our new single-stream recycling service makes it easy to get started. We’ll provide a designated recycling curbside tote, and we’ll pick up your recyclable materials twice a month, on the same day as your regular trash pickup.
How Does No-Cost Residential Recycling Work?
We’ve made signing up for residential recycling in Southern Colorado as simple as possible. There’s no need to purchase a recycling container or make special trips to drop off your recyclable materials.
Here’s how it works:
- Call our office at (719) 489-3456. Let us know you’d like to sign up for no-cost residential recycling.
- We’ll deliver your recycling curbside tote. Our team will drop off a designated recycling tote directly to your home.
- Fill your tote with accepted recyclable materials. Our single-stream recycling service allows you to place approved paper, cardboard, plastics, and metal containers together. Please see the list below on what you can and can’t put in your recycling bin.
- We’ll pick up your recycling twice a month. We will schedule recycling pickup on the same day as your regular weekly trash collection and pick up twice a month (not weekly, like your trash pickup). We will let you know your designated recycling pickup weeks.
It’s that easy! Your regular trash service continues as usual, and you’ll have a convenient way to keep more recyclable materials out of our landfills.
Where Is Residential Recycling Available in Southern Colorado?
Our no-cost residential recycling program is available to eligible Mountain Disposal residential customers in the following participating service areas:
- Rye
- Colorado City
- San Isabel
- Wetmore
- Beulah
- Walsenburg
- Cuchara
- La Veta
- Navajo Ranch HOA
- Red Creek Ranch HOA
- Eagle Ranch HOA
If you’re a Mountain Disposal residential customer in one of these areas, you need to give us a call to confirm eligibility and sign up. Please call our office at (719) 489-3456.
This recycling program is single-stream, meaning that you don’t have to sort your acceptable recycling. Paper, plastic, and metal can all go in the same recycling bin.
What Can You Put in Your Recycling Curbside Tote?
Knowing what belongs in your recycling tote helps keep the program running smoothly. Although single-stream recycling eliminates the need to separate approved materials, curbside collection cannot recycle everything.
Here’s a helpful guide to what you can and cannot place in your recycling tote.
YES! These Items Can Be Recycled
Paper and Cardboard
- Office paper, junk mail, envelopes, notebook paper and greeting cards
- Newspapers, magazines, catalogs, flyers, calendars and brochures
- Paper grocery bags, packing paper and paper padded mailers
- Corrugated cardboard and paperboard packaging, including cereal boxes
- Paper egg cartons and other accepted molded-pulp packaging
- Milk and juice cartons, including aseptic cartons (multi-layered, shelf-stable packages that hold liquids like coconut water, soup, or tomato sauce)
- Non-metallic gift wrap
Plastic Containers
- #1 PET transparent bottles, jars and jugs (clear, transparent green or blue)
- #2 HDPE bottles, jars and jugs (shampoo bottles, milk jugs, laundry detergent jugs, household cleaner bottles, etc.)
- Accepted rigid polyethylene packaging, such as certain butter and ice cream containers
- #5 polypropylene containers, including deli containers, tubs, bottles and jars
- Large HDPE and polypropylene buckets, pails and lids
Metal Containers
- Steel and tin cans
- Aluminum beverage and food cans
- Accepted small-format metal packaging
NO! Keep These Items Out of Your Recycling Tote
Some materials can contaminate recyclable loads or require special handling. Please do not place the following items in your curbside recycling tote:
Plastics and Packaging
- Plastic bags, films (chip bags and cereal box liners)
- Pet-food bags, flexible pouches and laminated packaging
- #3 PVC plastics
- #6 polystyrene (foam cups, plates, trays, and containers)
- Expanded polystyrene foam and small-format plastics
- Compostable plastic packaging and unsupported rigid plastics
Glass and Other Materials
- All glass bottles, jars and containers
- Mirrors, lightbulbs, ceramics, porcelain and Pyrex
- Aerosol cans, including empty cans
- Shredded paper
- Wax-coated cardboard and compostable paper packaging
- Rubber, textiles, burlap and wood packaging
Hazardous and Special-Handling Materials
- Batteries and electronics
- Tires
- Motor oil, cooking oil, paint and other liquids
- Household chemicals, pesticides and solvents
- Chemical containers and pressurized cylinders
- Any hazardous materials
Important: A plastic recycling number doesn’t automatically mean an item is accepted. Always check the material and container type before placing it in your tote.
Mountain Disposal can help arrange separate removal of certain materials, including electronics, for an additional charge. Call our office to discuss your options.
Why Is Recycling Available at No Cost?
We provide residential recycling service in conjunction with Circular Action Alliance (CAA) of Colorado and funded through Colorado’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Program and Mountain Disposal.
Under the EPR program, companies that produce packaging and paper products help fund recycling systems across Colorado. This investment expands access to recycling, improves recycling infrastructure and helps more households participate without additional recycling service fees.
For Southern Colorado communities, this means an opportunity to reduce your household ecological footprint, conserve natural resources, and keep recyclable materials out of landfills.
And that’s something we can all feel good about!
Ready to Start Recycling? Give Us a Call!
At Mountain Disposal, we’ve always believed in neighbors helping neighbors. Our new residential recycling service is another way we’re working with our communities to keep Southern Colorado clean and beautiful.
Call (719) 489-3456 today to sign up for no-cost residential recycling. We’ll deliver your curbside tote, add you to our recycling route, and help you get started!
No-cost recycling is available to eligible residential customers in participating service areas. Accepted materials and program requirements apply.
Frequently Asked Questions About Residential Recycling:
1. Am I going to be charged for recycling?
No. Mountain Disposal will not charge eligible residential customers for recycling pickup or the recycling curbside tote. Regular weekly trash collection charges still apply.
2. Do I need to purchase or pick up a recycling tote?
No, once you’ve signed up, we’ll deliver a designated recycling curbside tote directly to your home at no additional cost.
3. How often will my recycling be picked up?
We will collect recycling twice a month, always on the same day as your regular trash pickup. We will let you know which two weeks of the month are your designated recycling pickup weeks. Your weekly trash collection schedule will remain unchanged.
4. Can I put glass or electronics in my recycling tote?
No, we can’t currently accept glass and electronics in our curbside recycling program. Electronics may be collected separately for an additional charge. If glass becomes accepted in the future, we’ll notify our customers.
5. What is Colorado’s Extended Producer Responsibility program?
Colorado’s EPR program helps fund and expand recycling services by requiring producers of covered packaging and paper products to support the recycling system. The goal is to make recycling more accessible while reducing landfill waste and protecting Colorado’s environment.
Learn more by visiting Colorado’s official EPR program website.