DENVER'S WASTE NO MORE ORDINANCE IS NOW LIVE
WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR NEXT DEMOLITION OR DECONSTRUCTION PROJECT
As of September 1, 2026, Denver's Universal Recycling and Composting Ordinance (URCO), the result of the voter-approved Waste No More initiative, is in effect. If you are pulling a construction or demolition permit in the city, the requirements apply now, to your next project.
This post covers exactly what the ordinance requires, what counts as diversion, what documentation you need to recover your deposit, and what happens if you come up short.
WHAT URCO NOW REQUIRES ON EVERY COVERED PROJECT
URCO applies to construction and demolition projects involving spaces over 500 square feet and interior renovations covering more than 2,500 square feet. For any permit application submitted on or after September 1, 2026, here is what is required:
A Recycling and Reuse Plan submitted before your permit is issued. No plan, no permit.
A performance security deposit paid before work begins. Up to $200,000 for the largest projects.
A 50 percent diversion threshold. At least half of covered materials must be diverted from the landfill. That threshold rises to 65 percent by 2036.
A Recycling and Reuse Compliance Form before final inspection. This verifies what you actually diverted, with documentation to back it up.
WHAT COUNTS AS DIVERSION
Not everything leaving a job site counts toward your diversion total. URCO covers specific materials. Knowing what counts matters when you're trying to hit 50 percent.
Covered materials that count toward diversion:
Concrete and asphalt
Masonry and brick
Untreated wood and lumber
Metal and scrap steel
Corrugated cardboard
Diversion means the material went somewhere other than a landfill. That includes recycling facilities, donation destinations, and reuse warehouses. Each destination needs to be documented with receipts or weight tickets showing where the material actually went.
HOW TO RECOVER YOUR DEPOSIT
The deposit is returned based on how much you actually diverted and how well you documented it. To recover the full amount, you need to hit the 50 percent threshold and submit a complete Compliance Form before final inspection.
Your Compliance Form needs to include:
Weight tickets from recycling facilities for each material type delivered
Receipts or transfer records for salvaged materials going to reuse destinations
A material manifest tracking total quantities generated, diverted, and landfilled
A copy of the approved Recycling and Reuse Plan submitted at permit
If you fall short of 50 percent, you get back a partial deposit or none at all. The paperwork is not optional and estimates will not substitute for actual receipts.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY WITH URCO
The city has stated clearly that enforcement starts with an education-first approach. If a project falls short, the first response is typically working with the permit holder to understand what went wrong before financial penalties are applied.
That said, the consequences are real. Failing to hit the diversion threshold means forfeiting part or all of your security deposit. Failing to submit the required plan before the permit is issued means the permit does not get issued. Submitting documentation that does not hold up has the same result as not submitting it at all.
The simplest way to avoid all of it is to have a subcontractor who knows the process and handles the paperwork as part of the job, not as an afterthought.
HOW PERKS HANDLES COMPLIANCE
Perks has built diversion and documentation into how we work from the start. The Recycling and Reuse Plan is part of our standard process. We sort and salvage materials on-site, track what goes where, and provide the documentation you need to complete your Compliance Form.
Salvaged materials from Perks job sites go directly to Perks Reclaimed, our warehouse in Commerce City. That is a documented, traceable reuse destination that counts toward your diversion total and gives you the receipts to prove it.
If you have a project coming up and want to make sure waste diversion is handled correctly from the start, reach out before demo begins.
This is the second post in a three-part series on Denver's construction waste compliance requirements.
