COPPER'S FREE COMMUNITY DROP-OFF CENTER

A Message From Copper Mountain Resort:

Copper has been making huge strides in our efforts to reduce waste at the mountain. From integrating Ball Aluminum Cups into resort operations, to introducing PepsiCo's CIRQU powered by Replenysh to increase circularity of our recycled material, Copper has been on the forefront of driving innovative solutions to waste collection.  Now, the resort will be supporting local efforts to encourage a communal commitment to waste reduction.  

Copper Mountain has implemented the first and only Community Recycle and Food Scrap Drop-Off Center located outside Camp Hale Creamery at Conoco Gas Station available within the Copper community. Along with recycling, the new Drop-Off location will include a food scrap compost deposit, prompting local Copper residents and employees to dispose of food waste alongside their traditional recyclable materials 

The Community Drop Off Center is meant to be used by all, whether you’re just passing through on the highway, visiting with your crew for a ski vacation, or are a longtime local of the Copper Valley. The Drop Off Center is free for all to utilize and is encouraged to eliminate waste! 

Where is the new Drop-Off Center? 

Located across the street from the resort outside Camp Hale Creamery at Conoco Gas Station, anyone can utilize the free recycling bins to dispose of recyclable and salvageable waste. Bins are against the west wall of the Conoco building.  

What can be recycled at Copper’s Community Drop-Off Center? 

• CIRQU – Aluminum and Plastic Bottles– Includes aluminum cans and cups and plastic #1 bottles. Material will be recycled directly back into PepsiCo’s supply chain, eliminating downcycling and supporting Copper’s own recycling initiatives. Learn more about PepsiCo’s CIRQU powered by Replenysh at CopperColorado.com. 

• Glass (Colored and Clear)– Glass is often not accepted by most HOA’s or paid recycle haulers throughout Summit County. The Drop-Off Center is the only public facility at Copper that accepts glass. 

Composting at Copper 

Guests and community members can now dispose of their food scraps for free via the compost deposit at the Drop Off Center. Copper received grant funding from the High Country Conservation Center (HC3) to install bear savers at the community location to collect food scrap waste.  

Copper Mountain & Summit County residents and community members can sign up here to dispose of their food scraps for free through HC3. Once you enroll, you’ll receive a code to access the food scrap bins. This code changes periodically to prevent trash dumping. You will be notified via email of code changes and program updates. You can also pick up a free collection bucket from HC3 when you enroll.

• Compostable items – Fruit pits and peels, meat, bones, coffee grounds, spoiled food, and baked or processed foods.

• NOT Compostable – All paper, plastic, and non-food compostable products. That includes bags, coffee filters, and tea bags. These items are NOT accepted in the food scrap program as they do not breakdown in our arid mountain environment and are lightweight, which means they can blow off the composting piles creating litter.  

Food scraps collected from the bin will be transported to the Summit County Resource Allocation Park or SCRAP facility, where they’ll be combined with biosolids and wood chips from beetle-kill pine trees. In just 13 weeks, the mixture will be transformed into compost, a valuable soil amendment. Food Scrap program participants can pick up free compost samples each spring to use for added nutrients in their lawn and/or garden! Copper itself has utilized compost to study its effects on soil health and revegetation on our mountain. 

Additional Rules for utilizing the Drop-Off Center

• No dumping of any kind is allowed. Please only dispose of recyclable materials and food waste. There is no landfill or public trash disposal at this location. 

• No plastic bags.  

• Please respect Conoco patrons and employees. The Drop-Off Center shares space with an active business, and we want to be sure that the public utilizing the recycling and food waste disposal stations does not interfere with daily operations.   

You can learn more about all of Copper’s waste reduction efforts at CopperColorado.com.