The Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance applies to:
- Multi-family dwellings of eight or more units (such as apartments and condo buildings)
- Manufactured home communities (such as mobile home parks)
- Congregate living or boarding homes (such as housing co-ops)
The ordinance does NOT apply to townhomes or rowhomes that have an account with Denver Solid Waste Management.
Multifamily residential buildings are required to provide:
- Recycling and composting services to tenants, residents, employees, and contractors
- Signage that clearly identifies each waste stream, along with education on proper waste sorting for tenants, residents, employees, and contractors.
Who is responsible: If URCO applies to your building, the responsible person (or party) must ensure it meets URCO's requirements. The person or responsible party for multifamily residential buildings is the:
- Building owner.
- Rental property license holder.
- Boarding or care home park license holder.
- Condo or co-op owner's association.
- Any person or business acting for one of the above, including the property manager.
Other ways to comply: Buildings may comply through alternative means (such as food donation, animal feed, on-site diversion, or other means), or by sharing services and costs.
Read the Full Rules and Regulations(PDF, 258KB)
In some situations, you can ask for an exemption from the URCO requirements. For example:
- Financial hardship. If paying for recycle or compost services would be so bad for your finances that you couldn’t maintain normal operations or employment levels.
- De minimis volumes of materials. If the building throws away less than:
- A medium-sized (64-gallon) cart per month of trash.
- A large-sized (96-gallon) cart per month of recyclables.
- A small-sized (48-gallon) cart per month of compost.
- Inadequacy of waste hauling services. If you have tried to set up the required waste hauling services for your building but are unable to get service because:
- No licensed waste hauler can collect your materials at your location.
- Haulers can’t provide service quickly enough.
- Service options don’t meet URCO’s minimum service level requirements.
- There are access or operational issues that mean a hauler can’t provide service on time.
- Space constraints. If you don’t have space to put all the containers, or the only space you have isn’t safe for the hauler to access.
If you plan to submit an exemption request, you will need to include the additional information listed in the table below. For each exemption type, you will need to specify whether you are requesting an exemption from the recycling or compost service. In some cases, you may need to submit separate exemption requests for each service.
Situation
|
Information Needed for an Exemption
|
| Financial Hardship |
- Provide a description and documents showing you cannot financially support both normal operations and additional recycle and compost services.
|
| De Minimus Volumes of Materials |
- Show documents proving the building creates trash, recycle, and compost below the minimum threshold.
|
| Inadequacy of Waste Hauling Service |
- Explain what actions you have taken and the reasons why getting service won't work for your building.
- Show documents proving what you have tried. For example, service requests or written refusals from waste haulers.
|
| Space Constraints |
- Photos of your space with an explanation for why it does not work for recycling or compost service
- If requested, share other information, documents, and explanations of the ways you have tried to follow the requirements in the space you have. For example, showing that you have tried different container sizes, changing your enclosure, etc.
|
If the city grants your request, you will need to renew the exemption each year. To renew, fill out the renewal form with updated information showing you still need it.
Request an Exemption
Having trouble submitting your Exemption request? If you experience a technical issue, please try again later. Denver is taking an education-first approach to compliance, providing resources, guidance, and support to help you understand what’s required and get on track.
The URCO Waste Diversion Plan is a template you submit to the city showing how your building is complying with recycling and composting requirements.
Submit a Waste Diversion Plan
Having trouble submitting your Waste Diversion Plan? If you experience a technical issue, please try again later. Denver is taking an education-first approach to compliance, providing resources, guidance, and support to help you understand what’s required and get on track.
Use our checklist for step-by-step instructions for compliance, supporting materials, tips, and best practices.
Compliance Checklist for Multifamily Residential Buildings
These materials and examples can get you started with training your staff and tenants, finding waste haulers, labeling your bins, and keeping your whole building clear on the URCO requirements.
Signage examples and downloadable signs
Signage can be picture-only or bilingual. Signage provided by waste haulers may be used if it meets these requirements. The city also offers templates that meet the signage requirements:
Sample bilingual signs. Please download the signs using the buttons below instead of saving these images.
Additional Resources
These resources provide a great starting point for training staff and tenants and keeping the whole building aware of recycling requirements.