{"id":15314,"date":"2025-12-09T20:40:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T03:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-moves-forward-curbside-trash-and-recycling-option-with-cortez\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:46:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:46:39","slug":"dolores-moves-forward-curbside-trash-and-recycling-option-with-cortez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/dolores-moves-forward-curbside-trash-and-recycling-option-with-cortez\/","title":{"rendered":"Dolores moves forward curbside trash and recycling option with Cortez"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=d0324dd3-5ec6-5b5c-bd33-8d8aab05c0d6&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1986\" alt=\"A Cortez residential recycling truck makes the rounds. Dolores residents may gain a new recycling option as the town\u2019s 12th Street bins are phased out. (Photo\/courtesy of city of Cortez)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A Cortez residential recycling truck makes the rounds. Dolores residents may gain a new recycling option as the town\u2019s 12th Street bins are phased out. (Photo\/courtesy of city of Cortez)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>The Dolores Town Board advanced a new trash and recycling service after voting Monday to draft an agreement with Cortez.<\/p>\n<p>Under the contract, Cortez would provide weekly trash pickup and separated recycling for mixed cardboard, plastics No. 1 and No. 2, aluminum, office paper mix, and tin\/steel or ferrous metals for around $31 per household each month. Glass would not be accepted. The service rate may see a small increase. The price isn\u2019t official until Cortez approves their 2026 fee schedule but will reflect $2 higher than Cortez\u2019s standard residential rate.<\/p>\n<p>A completed contract will be presented to both local governments for approval in early 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Residents who want the service can call Cortez Utilities Billing to enroll, request a trash bin and recycling container, and cancel their current trash service after the new services begin. Officials say recyclables must be sorted into paper bags by category and cleaned. The plastic type is printed in small lettering on the bottom and can be seen by turning the item over.<\/p>\n<p>For information on how to enroll or express interest, see the flyer or use the QR code below.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-pdf-embed\"><iframe class=\"article-pdf\" src=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/h58mTMWNPPzHJiNf3P_FWXri7RQ.pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;border:1px solid #ddd\" loading=\"lazy\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/h58mTMWNPPzHJiNf3P_FWXri7RQ.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Final Flyer Dolores town project 2.pdf (Download PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p><\/iframe>\n<p class=\"naviga-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/h58mTMWNPPzHJiNf3P_FWXri7RQ.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Final Flyer Dolores town project 2.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Colby Earley, Cortez\u2019s refuse and recycling superintendent, said the department will reach out to Dolores households after the contract is approved, and they have developed routes and a pickup schedule. Earley said this is when they\u2019ll let people know when their services are starting.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-pdf-embed\"><iframe class=\"article-pdf\" src=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/CkaG6beRWIp306Nfq3KWGuROK7I.pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:500px;border:1px solid #ddd\" loading=\"lazy\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/CkaG6beRWIp306Nfq3KWGuROK7I.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dolores Resident Packet 11.11.25 for trash.pdf (Download PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><\/p><\/iframe>\n<p class=\"naviga-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dur-prod-public-pdfs.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/CkaG6beRWIp306Nfq3KWGuROK7I.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dolores Resident Packet 11.11.25 for trash.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>So far, 68 households and some businesses have signed up, Town Manager Leigh Reeves said. The initial target was more than 100 households, but that minimum is no longer required, Reeves said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one\u2019s obligated. If you don\u2019t want curbside recycling, you can still go with Countryside, Bruin Waste Management, whoever you want, but you\u2019re not going to necessarily get recycling from them,\u201d Reeves said.<\/p>\n<p>The town\u2019s main recycling option \u2013 Four Corners Recycling Initiative\u2019s drop-off bins on 12th Street \u2013 will disappear after December. That prompted the town to consider ways to keep recycling available.<\/p>\n<p>The change stems from a shift in funding from tonnage-based payments at drop-off sites to a state program that pays haulers directly, making the nonprofit\u2019s service unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=1a4e632f-459a-54d3-a4c9-c86a08ac6a0b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"A new state program aims for recycling to be offered like curbside trash. The Dolores free drop-off location on 12th Street will be retired at the end of this month. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A new state program aims for recycling to be offered like curbside trash. The Dolores free drop-off location on 12th Street will be retired at the end of this month. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=06015131-5cce-51db-b05f-626733ef26dd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"The initiative is planning to donate its bins to partner entities so they can maintain or revitalize their internal recycling programs. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The initiative is planning to donate its bins to partner entities so they can maintain or revitalize their internal recycling programs. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>In October, Four Corners Recycling Initiative Board President Casey Simpson said, \u201cThat\u2019s OK, because Four Corners Recycling was an initiative to really build out both the availability and culture of recycling in the Four Corners Region.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since its start, the nonprofit has diverted more than 2,185.5 tons of material from landfills, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Simpson said the organization plans to stay in contact with local partners, the county and Dolores and Mancos school districts, to help with the transition to new recycling programs.<\/p>\n<p>Under town ordinance, Reeves said Cortez will provide bear-resistant locks for trash containers.<\/p>\n<p>Bear activity was high across Montezuma County this fall, mirroring statewide trends that made 2025 an above-average year for human-bear encounters. Colorado Parks and Wildlife attributes the spike to drought and poor natural food availability in the Southwest, which lured bears into residential areas and toward trash containers \u2013 sometimes even locked ones, town officials said.<\/p>\n<p>At Monday\u2019s meeting, Sheriff Steve Nowlin said he believes the last bear frequenting the north end of town has settled into hibernation.<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-cd024c6f489526c470ebb894b2e95412\">This article was updated Wednesday to reflect information provided by superintendent Colby Earley.  <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>proposed package for Dolores includes curbside trash pickup, free recycling, bulk trash removal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15315,"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-15314","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\/15314","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=15314"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21136,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15314\/revisions\/21136"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15314"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=15314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}