More than two years after Denver voters approved a ballot initiative aimed at increasing recycling and composting across the city鈥檚 businesses, residential buildings, and construction sites, the city will now finalize implementation and enforcement. Denver City Council members voted 10 to 2 to approve Council Bill 25-0628, which amends the city code related to the 2022 鈥淲aste No More鈥� ballot initiative.
Under the new ordinance, which would not go into effect until September 2026, composting will be required for multi-family residential buildings, non-residential buildings that handle food, such as restaurants, large outdoor events that serve food, construction and demolition projects larger than 500 square feet, and remodeling and renovation projects larger than 2,500 square feet.
Dissenting votes from Councilmembers Kevin Flynn and Amanda Sawyer cited the bill鈥檚 potential to place additional burdens on small businesses. 鈥淪eptember of 2026 is when implementation would formally go into effect,鈥� Tim Hoffman, Director of Policy for Denver Mayor Johnston, told the members of the City Council. 鈥淪o that gives us about a year of figuring out rules and regulations.鈥�