Colorado
Englewood teams up with Compost Colorado to bring composting to city facilities
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Englewood is the first municipality to partner with Compost Colorado to bring composting containers to all city buildings.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), methane gas is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping atmospheric heat and makes up about 16% of global emissions. A new internal city-wide program in Englewood aims to cut back on methane gas emissions, starting with employee food scraps.
“If you are taking your banana peels and throwing them in the trash, that goes to the landfill, where it generates methane gas because it’s trapped in styrofoam and plastic and it’s broken down anaerobically. Instead, you can turn that banana peel, those coffee grounds into compost, which reduces and eliminates that methane and, in exchange, makes a really healthy, nutrient-rich compost soil amendment,” said Vann Fussell, founder of Compost Colorado.
The company offers residential and commercial compost pick-up to communities across the Front Range. They typically divert around 50,000 pounds of scraps and compostable products away from landfills each week.
In the last week, Compost Colorado launched something new — a partnership with the City of Englewood.
“This is one of the first kinds of partnerships we’ve developed with a municipality,” said Fussell.
Compost Colorado bins can now be found in about 20 break rooms for city employees.
“City staff can utilize it after lunch if they have a banana peel or anything organic. They can put it in this bin and know that they’re helping with waste diversion,” said Melissa Englund, Englewood’s sustainability program manager who has been working for years with Compost Colorado to launch the program.
The program was funded through money from the Public Works budget — $570 as a one-time start-up fee and a monthly payment of $685. That includes 20 bins and multiple 64-gallon roll-offs that will be located at the Civic Center, the police department, the Service Center, Malley Senior Center, South Platte Renew and the Englewood Recreation Center.
Public Works staff saw firsthand just how much compostable material was heading straight to the dump in the trash.
“Right now, we currently have recycling. We do the trash removal, and we do look at what we’re throwing away. With a lot of food and a lot of product that can be in compost, we decided it’d be a really good program to add,” said Ron Thornton, deputy director of Englewood Public Works.
The bins are expected to have a big impact once all 600+ city employees join in.
“The first few weeks you might expect, you know, about one or two tons of diversion across their municipal buildings. But that might snowball into maybe even 10 tons a week from across all their departments,” said Fussell.
Organizers hope the commitment to composting spreads beyond the government buildings. The city has posted signage and hosted lunch-and-learns to give their employees information on how to properly compost.
“We hope that they take that information and bring it home to their friends and families and get them excited about composting, too,” said Englund.
“If your city leaders aren’t recycling and composting, it’s hard for you as a resident to feel that it’s your responsibility to do that, so I appreciate Englewood. They’re setting a good example to their community,” said Fussell. “I’m really hopeful that these other municipalities that we operate in Broomfield, Westminster, Arvada, Lakewood, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, all of these municipalities adopt a similar practice, and we can divert as much food waste from the landfill as we can.”
Englewood does offer community compost drop-off at the recreation center. Residents need to sign up with Compost Colorado for $5/week to have 24/7 access to the bin there. The residential bin was launched in May 2023 and since then, 2,820 lbs of organic waste has been diverted, according to the city.
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As car thefts in Colorado continue to be an issue, the Colorado State Patrol is expanding its program which was created to curb those thefts. Troopers tell CBS Colorado that car thefts are down 20% but they want to see it non-existent so they are providing a free steering wheel lock for anyone who needs one.
Your First Alert Traffic Tracker Reporter Brian Sherrod met with Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority Public Outreach Coordinator Cale Gould to discuss the importance of this program. Gould tells CBS Colorado a steering wheel lock is a great device to help increase physical vehicle security. Drivers can get a wheel lock by providing the VIN of the vehicle for which they want the added protection. There is a limit of one wheel lock per person.
Gould tells CBS Colorado reducing auto theft in Colorado has a ripple effect in communities. When auto theft is reduced, other crime types and incidents also show reductions.
A quality theft prevention routine considers many possible factors to help deter and prevent vehicle theft. This should always include locking your car every time; no matter where or how long you will be away from it. Locked vehicles are the most secure when all keys are removed from them. Gould says to always take extra, spare, or valet keys out of a vehicle.
Then, once fully locked and secured, make sure your car is clean. Gould says thieves hate clean cars. What may seem like trash or unimportant items, like change, gym bags, or shopping bags from stores, may not catch your interest, but small things left visible in a vehicle can get a thief to target your vehicle over a vehicle without anything left in it. Take all items out of your vehicle and place any necessary items out of sight in the glove box or trunk.
“We always say clean out your car and don’t leave things in there, Gould said. “People don’t realize the things they leave. If you were looking at two identical cars and a thief was going to steal one of them and one of them is full of stuff, it doesn’t make people want to break into the clean car. Thieves hate clean cars.”
Primary distribution happens out of the Colorado State Patrol Records Department located at 700 Kipling Street in Lakewood. Locks can be picked up Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. excluding holidays. There is a limit of one lock per person.
Other locations include:
- Alamosa – Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. 3110 First Street, Alamosa, CO 8110
- Castle Rock – Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Troop 1B 4600 Castleton Court, Castle Rock, CO 80109. Out of stock till 7/07
- Colorado Springs – Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Bring a VIN for registration. Troop 2B, 1480 Quail Lake Loop Colorado Springs, CO 80906 (719) 635-0385
- Craig – Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. 800 W. 1st Street #400 Craig, CO 81625
- Durango – Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. and at special events. Troop 5A, 20591 Hwy 160 Durango, CO 81301
- Florence – Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. 600 W. 3rd Street Suite C Florence, CO 81226 – 719-784-3275
- Ft. Collins Pick Up – Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Bring a VIN for registration. Troop 3C, 3832 S. Interstate 25 Fort Collins, CO 80525 (Just North of Harmony Rd Exit headed North on I-25)
- Golden – Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Troop 1A/E, 1096 McIntyre St, Golden, CO 80401
- Pueblo – Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Troop 2D, 5615 Wills Blvd, Pueblo, CO 81008. Out of stock until 6/28
Check the nearest location for distribution information and hours.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado Springs city officials will be hosting a quarterly Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) forum at 1 p.m. today.
There, they’ll be discussing upcoming projects for the rest of the year and updating the community on the rollout of the TrackChair Program. The program aims to provide more access to Colorado’s parks and open spaces for those with mobility challenges through utilizing all-terrain mobility devices.
Officials will also discuss how the city’s ADA efforts will support the mayor’s strategic plan.
You can join the meeting via Microsoft Teams video call or phone call. To join the video meeting on Microsoft Teams, click here. The passcode to join the meeting is afW4Jw. To join by phone, dial 720-617-3426. The conference ID number is 731336356#.
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Two different forwards that were on the Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball roster last season have been selected by pro teams in the 2024 NBA Draft.
The Utah Jazz drafted forward Cody Williams with the 10th pick. Williams only played for CU as a freshman and missed 13 games during the season due to injuries. His brother is Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams.
Williams played in the Buffs appearance in the NCAA Tournament but he says he wasn’t 100% healthy.
As a freshman when he was on the court he showed quick movement and fancy footwork. He also showed he is a good 3-point shooter.
The Orlando Magic drafted forward Tristan da Silva with the 18th pick. CBS Sports describes him as a “plug and play” option, “because he’s capable of playing minutes off the bench right now as someone who can space the floor, be a reliable decision-maker, and trustworthy on both ends of the floor.” Da Silva was one of the stars for the Buffs last season.
CU Boulder guard KJ Simpson still remains on the board as the draft heads to round two on Thursday. CBS Sports says that although he is a smaller guard, “teams that passed on him could be making a big mistake.” Simpson improved his efficiency throughout his college career and has extreme confidence and competitiveness.
The second round of the 2024 NBA Draft kicks off tomorrow at 2 p.m. MST on Thursday.
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