{"id":13520,"date":"2026-02-13T21:34:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T04:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-prepares-pact-with-dolores-for-curbside-trash-and-recycling\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:38:44","slug":"cortez-prepares-pact-with-dolores-for-curbside-trash-and-recycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/cortez-prepares-pact-with-dolores-for-curbside-trash-and-recycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortez prepares pact with Dolores for curbside trash and recycling"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cortez
Cortez will offer curbside trash and recycling services to Dolores households and businesses if the City Council ratifies the agreement. (City of Cortez)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

The Cortez City Council on Tuesday told staff to prepare an agreement to offer curbside trash and recycling service in Dolores, a plan that would replace the recycling option residents lost this year while bringing new revenue to Cortez.<\/p>\n

The council will consider the proposal Feb. 24, and the service could begin March 1, according to interim Public Works and General Services Director Casey Simpson.<\/p>\n

Dolores lost its main recycling option at the start of the year when the town\u2019s drop-off bins closed. Colorado created a new system that pays recycling haulers directly, which changed how the old service worked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the residents who used to use that service are now seeking another option which is to some extent the state\u2019s intent,\u201d Simpson said in an interview with The Journal. \u201cBecause now\u2026 hypothetically at least\u2026 more people will recycle because it\u2019s happening at their house.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dolores Town Board approved work on the agreement in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Under the proposed deal, Dolores residents could choose the service. It would cost $2 more than the $29.75 monthly rate paid by Cortez residents. Dolores would receive bear-proof containers because the town requires them.<\/p>\n

Simpson told the council that expanding service could bring in more revenue for Cortez while giving Dolores residents a reliable curbside option. He said the added income could help the city improve equipment and staffing.<\/p>\n

\"Cortez
Cortez residents incur no extra cost for incorporating Dolores into curbside services and the city may see revenue from the program, according to Earley. (Courtesy of Colby Earley)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The project would operate separately from Cortez\u2019s regular routes. Cortez Refuse and Recycling Superintendent Colby Earley said the city would spend about $10,000 to $15,000 on startup costs. He said state funding and customer sign-ups in Dolores could cover those expenses and begin generating revenue for Cortez within two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re over 9,000 residents. Dolores is around 500. It\u2019s a very small amount compared to what we\u2019re servicing right now,\u201d Earley told the council. \u201cOnboarding 100 customers\u2026 or something of that nature\u2026 is very easy for us to incorporate into what we\u2019re already doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earley also said recycling could help extend the life of the Montezuma County Landfill, which he said has just over 20 years left.<\/p>\n

\u201cA 20 year life expectancy is not that long. It takes about 10 years time just to permit a new landfill,\u201d Earley said. \u201cAnything that we can do to reduce the volume of waste and material going into the landfill will actually increase the landfill\u2019s life span.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dolores residents and businesses can contact the Cortez utility billing department at 970-564-4012 or email cearley@cortezco.gov<\/a> if they are interested in the service. If the council approves the agreement, Earley said he will begin processing requests and set up new routes.<\/p>\n

avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A
A bin full of cans waiting to be recycled at the Montezuma County landfill. (Ilana Newman \/ The Daily Yonder)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Agreement could extend life span of county landfill and bring revenue to Cortez<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13520"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19019,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13520\/revisions\/19019"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13520"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}