Can an educational campaign propel Denver to the ranks of the top recycling cities in the country?  

After being trashed as one of the worst recycling cities in the country last year, the city will probe that question in joining with The Recycling Partnership on a pilot program. The nonprofit – which has helped hundreds of communities scale their recycling efforts – will coordinate with Denver Public Works over the next three months, exploring ways to boost collection of recyclables in Denver.

The program’s initial focus: increasing resident recycling of aluminum and steel cans. On four pilot routes, the city will tag trash carts with information and send mailers, post signs and use social media to inform residents about recycling in Denver.

“We plan to use this project to help increase our citywide recycling rate from 20 percent to our 2020 goal of 34 percent,” said Charlotte Pitt, manager at Denver’s Solid Waste Management. “This will not only benefit our residents and our environment, but keeping recyclable material out of the landfill will also save at least $1 million in landfill fees.”

Denver will also look to local businesses and corporations to help in the renewed recycling effort.

“Companies with a local presence, like Ball Corporation, Anheuser Busch and DanoneWave are dedicated to directly supporting recycling in Denver, while also building the circular economy,” said Keefe Harrison, The Recycling Partnership CEO.

“Success in boosting Denver’s recycling performance will not only help locally, it will provide communities across America with the tools and proof points they need to make the most of their programs.”

The city boasts that its residential recycling program outperforms the national average for quality of material collected. Yet, a November 2016 report by the Colorado Public Interest Research Group and Eco-Cycle painted Denver as among the worst in the country when compared with similar-sized cities, with just 18 percent of waste generated by single-family homes and small apartments recycled.

The report noted cities like Fresno, California had a recycling rate of 71 percent and other Colorado cities including Loveland and Boulder collected at a 61 and 54 percent rate respectively. The survey recommended among other steps that multi-family housing units provide better recycling options; that the city provide composting services free of charge to residents, and that it offer financial incentives for recycling/composting.