BOULDER – After a year of construction and facility upgrades, the community is invited to celebrate Earth Day at Boulder’s zero waste headquarters with a renovation reveal. Local nonprofits Resource Central and Eco-Cycle are welcoming the public with live bands, food, activities for kids of all ages, and behind-the-scenes tours on Friday, April 22 at 6400 Arapahoe Rd in Boulder.
Conservation nonprofit Resource Central is reopening its building materials reuse yard to the public this week featuring a new 20,000 sq ft steel shade canopy that will increase capacity, reduce rain and snow impacts, and keep donated building materials from getting ruined.
The revamped facility will feature expanded inventory and make it easier for families to reuse local materials for home improvement projects including cabinets, doors, windows, sinks, lumber, and lights.
“Earth Day is the perfect time for our renovation reveal,” said Neal Lurie, president of Resource Central. “These facility improvements will directly support our community’s climate goals – keeping millions of pounds of building materials from landfills while avoiding carbon emissions from manufacturing and transporting new materials. We’re incredibly grateful for all of our donors and partners for making this conservation project possible.”
Resource Central’s materials reuse facility, together with Eco-Cycle’s Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM), are often touted as a national model for reducing waste.
CHaRM provides recycling opportunities for more than 25 items, ranging from electronic waste to mattresses, and including newly-added solar panel recycling. Hard-to-recycle materials make up roughly 15% of the waste stream, but if diverted from landfills, can provide valuable feedstocks for making new products by local businesses.
“We invite the public to come visit our upgraded shared facility on Earth Day and learn about the many programs, policies, and opportunities we have available to engage folks in our collective work to effect systemic change for our climate and our community,” said Suzanne Jones, Eco-Cycle Executive Director. “Reducing, reusing, and recycling are essential solutions to addressing climate change and resource depletion—on Earth Day and every day.”
Earth Day activities are free and take place Friday, April 22 from 9am-5pm with live music beginning at 11am. Learn more at ResourceCentral.org or Ecocycle.org.
About Resource Central:
Founded in 1976, Resource Central is an innovative nonprofit dedicated to putting conservation into action. Its programs have helped more than 700,000 families save water, reduce waste, and conserve energy. Learn more at ResourceCentral.org.
About Eco-Cycle:
Founded in 1976, Eco-Cycle is one of the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit recyclers and Zero Waste pioneers. Eco-Cycle works to innovate, implement, and advocate for local and global Zero Waste solutions to foster a more regenerative, equitable, and climate-resilient future. For more information, visit: www.ecocycle.org
