City of Colorado Springs completes WastelessCOS action plan to reduce waste and expand recycling access

The City of Colorado Springs has completed the WastelessCOS Waste Diversion Study and Action Plan, a community-informed effort to reduce waste, expand recycling and build a more sustainable community.

The study provides a data-driven look at how materials are managed across homes, businesses, and City operations, helping inform strategies that support residents today while protecting resources for future generations.

The Waste Diversion Action Plan establishes a long-term goal of increasing Colorado Springs' community-wide waste diversion rate to 37% by 2045, with targeted benchmarks for single-family, multi-family, and commercial sectors. The focuses on potential actions that improve access to recycling and composting, reduce contamination, and make waste reduction easier and more effective across the city.

"The WastelessCOS action plan reflects extensive community input and a clear-eyed look at how our waste system works today and a roadmap to move forward," said Deputy City Manager Ryan Trujillo. "As Colorado Springs continues to grow, we have to be thoughtful about how we manage resources. This plan helps position the city for long-term sustainability by aligning infrastructure, education, and policy with our community's expectations."

The WastelessCOS initiative is funded through the Colorado Circular Communities (C3) program, and the City has partnered with Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) to carry out the technical studies and planning. The City conducted a waste characterization study, evaluated existing recycling and waste infrastructure, reviewed local and state policies, and modeled future diversion scenarios. Residents, businesses, institutions, and waste service providers contributed feedback through surveys, interviews, and stakeholder meetings, ensuring the plan reflects real-world conditions and opportunities.

The plan organizes recommended actions into five core strategy areas: leveraging Colorado's Extended Producer Responsibilityprogram, education and outreach, organics management, governance and data tracking, and construction and specialty waste diversion. Together, these strategies are intended to strengthen recycling and reuse systems, support economic activity in the materials management sector, and provide the City with tools to track progress and report results over time.

Implementation of the Waste Diversion Action Plan will occur in phases as funding and resources become available. The City will continue working with community partners and service providers and will report on progress as actions are implemented.

The completed Waste Diversion Action Study and Plan is available at ColoradoSprings.gov/WastelessCOS.