Broomfield, CO Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 8-04-025, rewritten by Ord. No. 2242 on September 10, 2024, ties recycling directly to the city's mandatory residential refuse program. Subsection (A) requires the city's contracted hauler to provide single-stream recycling containers to every resident subject to the program, and states that such containers shall be used only for collection of materials deemed recyclable materials, meaning residents cannot use the recycling bin as overflow trash capacity. Subsection (B) then places the separation duty on the resident, requiring them to separate their recyclable materials from other discarded materials as directed by the city contracted hauler in the provided containers.

What counts as recyclable is not fixed in the Code itself; § 8-04-010(E) defines 'recyclable materials' by reference to whatever the city and county manager designates as single-stream recyclables in the city's contracted waste collection services agreement, so the accepted-materials list can change with the contract rather than requiring an ordinance amendment. Recycling containers are placed on the same street or alley schedule as trash under § 8-04-025(B), and the 24-hour curb placement limit in § 8-04-120 applies to them as well. Licensed haulers must report annual recycling tonnage by commodity to the Broomfield City and County Clerk by January 31 under § 8-04-070(C), giving Public Works a yearly diversion figure for the program.