Denver is almost one-year into its new "pay-as-you-throw" trash program, a climate initiative which charges residents for trash pickup while making recycling and composting free.
The only problem: most of Denver's neighborhoods have not yet received their compost bins. This online map is supposed to show when each neighborhood can expect their delivery, but every area just reads "Information coming soon."
So we asked the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI), who said Montbello, Gateway and Green Valley Ranch are next on the city's list. Residents in those neighborhoods should receive letters with more information before the end 2023 and get their carts by March of next year.
That leaves seven more trash districts (which are different from your Council district) to go. DOTI spokesperson Nancy Kuhn said the city plans to deliver bins to one district per financial quarter, which means the entire process would be completed by the end of 2025 -- a longer timeline than originally anticipated when Council passed the plan.
In the meantime, residents who have not received their compost carts get a partial credit for the new trash fee.
It's not clear which neighborhoods will come next. Kuhn said the city is prioritizing areas with higher levels of trash and lower levels of recycling and compost.
Residents in City Park, City Park West, Clayton, Cole, Elyria-Swansea, Five Points, North Capitol Hill, Skyland, Whittier and parts of Globeville have already gotten their carts, and can find a guide to composting here.
"So far, the response has been good," Kuhn said. "Many people are using their green compost carts and we're continuing the process of auditing and educating customers. This involves checking carts for contamination and tagging those carts to let people know what they put in their carts that shouldn't be in there."
