Universal Waste Collection in Broomfield

Update on City-Contracted Residential Waste Services

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, the Broomfield City Council approved the ordinance to allow for a trash hauler to be contracted to provide residential waste services, and the contract with Waste Connections of Colorado for the provision of services. It is anticipated that services will begin in April 2025.

Contracted Residential Waste Services (Universal Waste Collection) in Broomfield

A Contracted Residential Waste Service program, formerly known as “Universal Waste Collection” would change the current residential waste collection system from many licensed haulers to a City and County of Broomfield-managed contract consisting of a single hauler or a few haulers assigned to different parts of Broomfield.

This program would not include apartments with eight or more units.

This program would include volume based pricing and embed the pricing of recycling. Volume-based pricing adjusts rates based on the trash cart size: the larger the trash cart the more it costs. With this model, households are incentivized to recycle as much as possible to opt for the smallest trash cart. Recycling would be included in the cost of trash pickup. Options for curbside composting are being considered.

One of the primary goals of a Universal Waste Collection program is to increase recycling rates and reduce the number of materials going to landfill, helping Broomfield pursue its targets of 50% diversion of waste from landfills by 2025 and 100% diversion by 2035.

Currently 22% of Broomfield’s waste is recycled or composted. Other neighboring communities, such as Golden and Lafayette, that have implemented Universal Waste Collection programs have 33% and 31% diversion rates respectively.

At the Oct. 10, 2023, City Council meeting, Broomfield City Council passed Resolution 2023-123 directing staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for City-Contracted Residential Waste Services (formerly “Universal Waste Collection”).

Benefits of Contracted Residential Waste Services

This program is expected to increase Broomfield’s waste diversion by two to four percent, depending on the level of services implemented. HOAs that contract for trash and recycling services are exempt from having to join the contract. Some benefits of a contracted residential waste services program include:

• Provide more residents the opportunity to recycle
• Provide more transparent and consistent pricing
• Hold the preferred hauler accountable for customer service levels
• Residents who produce less trash could see lower costs for service
• Reduce road and traffic impacts

Background

The community expressed interest in the city exploring a single-hauler trash option in the 2021 Community Survey (61% of Community Survey(External link) respondents answered "yes" to "If you do not have current neighborhood trash services, would you be interested in the city exploring a single-hauler option?"). Broomfield City Council directed staff to explore a Universal Waste Collection program in Broomfield. As a result, Broomfield staff collected resident feedback via survey on the topic of Universal Waste Collection, gauging resident interest and their position of support and/or opposition.

During an in-depth study session on April 18, 2023 staff presented the Sustainability Update on Strategies to Reduce Residential Waste in Landfills: Universal Collection Program and Residential Recycling Ordinance memo(External link) to Council. City Council directed staff to pursue both a residential recycling ordinance and city-contracted services for residential trash, recycling and composting.

Landfill Waste Reduction

Survey

View our survey results here.

If you have any questions about this survey or Universal Waste Collection, please contact sustainability@broomfield.org or 720-887-2278.