ECOrtez is a curb-side recycling program that the City initiated in July 1991. The City program collects glass, newspapers, and aluminum beverage cans. The ECOrtez program consists of weekly curbside collection service and a drop-off station.
How ECOrtez Works
A 22-gallon green recycling bin is utilized by one and two-family dwellings. The bin is designed to hold three grocery bags full of recyclables. These bins will remain the property of the City of Cortez and will be assigned to each address. Please set a good example for your neighbors by not using the bin for anything other than recycling.
If you move, please leave the bin at your present address. If you do not intend to use the bin provided, contact the Public Works Department at 565-7320, ext 3352, and arrangements will be made to have the bin picked up.
It’s easy to recycle…all you do is separate and store your recyclables in grocery bags within the bin provided, and put the bin out by the curb in front of your property on the same day your garbage is picked up. Please have the bin out by 7:00 a.m. If your trash is normally picked up in the alley, the bin must still be placed by the curb in front of your property. If you generate more recyclable material than your bin can hold, please continue to separate your recyclables into grocery bags and place them next to your bin on pick-up days. The paper bags will be left for you to reuse.
Drop-off Stations
As part of the City’s recycling program, a drop-off station is provided for those who do not have the chance to participate in the City’s curbside pick-up program or live outside the City limits. The drop-off station has five dumpsters, each labeled for one of the items to be collected. Accompanying the dumpsters is a green sign stating which materials are acceptable in each dumpster, and which items are not allowed. The drop-off station is located at 110 West Progress Circle, in the Industrial Park next to the City Service Center. See Map.sites/default/files/file/public_works/RecyclingMove8X11.pdf Other drop off stations are located throughout Montezuma County through the 4-Corners Recycling Initiative.
Holiday Pick-Ups
Your recyclables will not be picked up on holidays, but will be picked up on the following work day. Residents will be notified of changes via our website, local newspaper, or by public radio announcements.
Preparation of Recyclable Materials
Help the City keep the cost of recycling down by using the following guidelines to separate your recyclable materials. You are providing the raw material for a manufacturing process. Because of this, the material we sell to processors must conform to very specific guidelines and be free from contamination. Failure to meet these guidelines may result in the rejection of entire loads. Please help ECOrtez by learning the guidelines and recycle properly.
Items to Recycle
- Newspaper - We accept the newspaper and all its supplements. Do not include: magazines, catalogues, phone books, junk mail, or any other paper material.
- Glass - We accept clean glass bottles and jars. Please remove lids and all Styrofoam type labels. Do not include window glass, ceramics, pyrex, light bulbs, drinking glasses, or any other glass. A dumpster is available for brown glass only. Please separate it from all other glass.
- Aluminum - We accept aluminum beverage cans ONLY. Do not include aluminum foil or pans. We do not recycle tin cans. Please do not put them in this bin.
- Cardboard - For large quantities of cardboard, please contact the Recycling Coordinator at the City Service Center, or call 970.565.7320 extension 3352.
The Recycling Program Does Not Take Dog or Cat Food Cans, Tin Cans, or Plastic Bottles.
The City Does Not Collect Yard Waste (i.e. Leaves, Branches, Mulch or Compost) from individuals for Recycling.
If foil, scraps, tin cans, magazines, junk mail, or trash in general are placed in the bin, the material will be left for you to dispose of. Also, the City does not recycle plastic of any kind.
What happens to all this stuff?
The newspaper is baled and trucked to Snowflake, AZ. The cardboard is baled and shipped to Lawton, OK. The mixed glass is trucked to Durango, where it is crushed and sold. The brown glass is also trucked to Durango, where it is crushed and hauled to Coors Recycling center inDenver. The aluminum is taken to Belt Salvage. The mulch from trees pruned by city employees is currently being taken to the golf course and turned into “super soil.”