Does Colorado recycle less than 20% of the waste it produces?

Coloradosun · May 04, 2026 · 192 words · By Cassis Tingley

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What to know about Does Colorado recycle less than 20% of the waste it produces?

Colorado recycled just 15.7% of all of its municipal solid waste in 2024, the most recent year for which data is available.

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Colorado recycled just 15.7% of all of its municipal solid waste in 2024, the most recent year for which data is available.

Why it matters

That rate, which does not include industrial waste, has hovered around 15% since dropping from 17.2% in 2018.

Common ground

Colorado is aiming to hit 35% in 2026 and 45% in 2036.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Does Colorado recycle less than 20% of the waste it produces??
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that That rate... has hovered around 15% since dropping from 17.2% in 2018?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/04/does-colorado-recycle-less-than-20/

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 8

check_circle Corroborated 2

schedule Pending 1

info

Claim 1: “That rate... has hovered around 15% since dropping from 17.2% in 2018”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific figures (17.2% in 2018 and hovering around 15% since) are only mentioned in one web search result.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A general election was held in the U.S. state of Colorado on November 6, 2018. All of Colorado's executive offices and all seven of its seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Colorado_elections

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2018 Colorado gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper was term-limited and could not seek a …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Colorado_gubernatorial_el…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Colorado were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the seven U.S. representatives from the state of Colorado, one from each of the state's se…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_United_States_House_of_Re…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 2: “Recycling rates are higher on the Front Range, which recycled 17.1% of its waste in 2024”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific 17.1% figure for the Front Range in 2024 is not found in the provided evidence, although the region is defined in Wikipedia. The claim appears to originate from the same single source as claim 0.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Colorado Connector (CoCo), also known as Front Range Passenger Rail, is a proposed intercity passenger train service along the Front Range and I-25 corridor in Colorado. As proposed, the route wou…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Connector

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Range

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Front Range Urban Corridor is an oblong region of urban population located along the eastern face of the Southern Rocky Mountains, encompassing 18 counties in the US states of Colorado and Wyoming…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_Range_Urban_Corridor

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 3: “Colorado recycled just 15.7% of all of its municipal solid waste in 2024”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is found in a single web search result ('Does Colorado recycle less than 20% of the waste it produces?'), but no other independent source corroborates this specific 15.7% figure for 2024.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Colorado gubernatorial election will be held November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Colorado. Incumbent Democratic Governor Jared Polis is ineligible to seek re-election to a third consec…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Colorado_gubernatorial_el…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Colorado is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, and part of the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners regio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Colorado Springs is a home rule city that is the county seat of, and the most populous city in, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.0…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs,_Colorado

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 4: “Of that, roughly 5.7 million tons went into landfills”

SINGLE SOURCE

The figure of 5.7 million tons is mentioned in the same single web search result as claim 6 and 7, but not corroborated elsewhere.

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Claim 5: “Colorado is aiming to hit 35% in 2026 and 45% in 2036”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results confirm that the Colorado Solid and Hazardous Waste Commission adopted goals of 35% by 2026 and 45% by 2036.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Colorado Rockies season is their 34th in Major League Baseball and their 32nd season at Coors Field. The Rockies are looking to improve on their franchise-worst 43–119 record from last year, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Colorado_Rockies_season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 United States Senate election in Colorado will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Colorado. Primary elections will be held on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_Senate_elec…

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 6: “282,000 tons were composted”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 7: “Colorado produced almost 6.8 million tons of municipal waste in 2024”

SINGLE SOURCE

The figure of 6.8 million tons for 2024 is mentioned in one web search result but not corroborated by other independent sources.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that 292.4 million U.S. short tons (2,000 lbs) of municipal waste was generated which equated to about 4.9 pounds per day per person. Out of the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Humanity generates around 2 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste every year. Without urgent action, annual municipal solid waste generation is expected to hit 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/municipal-solid-waste

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Each year, the Philippines generates 14.6 million tons municipal waste, according to the latest data from the 2025 World Bank What a Waste Global Database. This substantial volume places the country 2…
https://filipinokami.com/philippines-generates-14-6-million-…

info

Claim 8: “compared with the rest of the state, whose rate was 13.7%”

SINGLE SOURCE

The 13.7% figure for the rest of the state is not corroborated by any independent source in the provided evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The following table gives the percentages of municipal waste that is recycled, incinerated, incinerated to produce energy and landfilled.[1]. Recycling rates by country 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_rates_by_country

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Recycling old mattresses was already a major challenge. But a recent snag has caused recycler Spring Back Colorado to feel even more deflated. Its buyer of the foam it strips out of used mattresses st…
https://coloradosun.com/2024/06/11/slowdown-housing-sales-co…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Discover how our recycling plant tackles municipal waste effectively, improving sorting efficiency and capacity for all types of waste. #recycling #municipalwaste #zhongcheng #gabagesortingequipment. …
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/municipal-waste-fonda-theate…

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Claim 9: “The national municipal recycling rate was 32.1% in 2018, according to federal environmental authorities”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the US recycling rate was approximately 32% in 2018 (one source specifies 32%, another mentions the EPA's 2018 data).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, America’s recycling rate was 32 percent, a decline from a few years earlier. Nevertheless, laws like these have faced opposition from manufac…
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/climate/maine-recycling-l…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — In the United States, recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials (that would otherwise be thrown away as trash) and remanufacturing them into new products. On this page: U.S. Recy…
https://www.epa.gov/circulareconomy/us-recycling-system

info

Claim 10: “Cardboard was the most common recycled material, followed by yard trimmings and paper”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific order of materials (cardboard, yard trimmings, paper) is mentioned in one web search result but not corroborated by others.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cardboard was the most common recycled material, followed by yard trimmings and paper. Colorado produced almost 6.8 million tons of municipal waste in 2024. Of that, roughly 5.7 million tons went into…
https://coloradosun.com/2026/05/04/does-colorado-recycle-les…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — This webpage contains some state reports about recycling and waste management.
https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Now, we need to tackle the nearly 40% of our landfill waste that's food scraps and yard trimmings by investing in composting infrastructure and policies." According to the report, the cities of Boulde…
https://pirg.org/colorado/foundation/media-center/8th-state-…

info

Claim 11: “781,000 tons were recycled”

SINGLE SOURCE

The figure of 781,000 tons is mentioned in the same single web search result as claim 6 and 7, but not corroborated elsewhere.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.