City staff unveil proposed changes to Waste No More implementation; April 2026 enforcement dates floated

Tim Hoffman of the mayor’s office introduced an informational briefing on proposed updates to the Waste No More ordinance, which Denver voters approved in 2022. “This is an informational briefing only,” Hoffman said, and the administration told the committee it planned to return with ordinance language and an action item to the business committee on May 7.

Jonathan Wachtell, deputy executive director for the Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, told the committee staff aimed to make Waste No More “implementable in the way possible,” balancing voter intent with market capacity and agency resources. Wachtell and staff described market constraints for construction and demolition (C&D) materials, organics processors and the risk of contamination that can cause loads to be rejected at processors.

Key staff proposals and timelines - Construction and demolition: Staff proposes a 50% diversion requirement (by weight or tonnage of covered materials) for covered C&D projects, applying to demolition and construction permits with exemptions for hazardous‑materials abatement, projects under 500 square feet, quick permits (HVAC, electrical) and certain interior remodels under 2,500 square feet. Staff recommended an April 2026 enforcement start and a security‑deposit/refund approach to incentivize compliance. - Special events: Staff recommended applying requirements to permitted events on public property, with exemptions for events under 350 attendees and an administrative exemption process for economic hardship or where services are unavailable. Staff said contamination risk is high at public bins and that staffing and education are often needed; estimates presented by the special‑events office put hauling‑cost increases for events at roughly 10–20% in some cases. - Multi‑family housing and nonresidential buildings: Staff proposed aligning multi‑family recycling requirements with the state Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) recycling program and tentatively targeting an April 2026 start for covered obligations; staff said space constraints, building configuration and the need for property‑by‑property outreach would require a strong education and technical‑assistance effort. - Food‑waste producers (restaurants, grocery stores, food processors): Staff asked council for direction on phasing and thresholds. One option staff presented would require recycling and organics for the largest facilities (e.g., those over 15,000 square feet) beginning April 2026 and give smaller food establishments more time to comply because of economic‑impact concerns in the restaurant industry.

Staff emphasized enforcement by education and permitting, requiring waste‑diversion plans for covered entities and reserving enforcement actions as a last resort. Wachtell said the city will develop administrative regulations, forms and outreach materials over 2025 and return with ordinance language for Council action in May. He asked council members for feedback on exemption thresholds and sequencing.

Council members raised specific operational concerns: Rose Watts, director of special events, said the city’s events office has struggled to secure haulers for weekend and summer event pickups and estimated a 10–20% increase in hauling costs for events that add composting or staffed sorters. Community Planning and Development staff (Jill Jennings Golic) said the department is studying security‑deposit approaches used by other Colorado jurisdictions but must balance incentives with construction costs in Denver. Council members asked staff to provide more detailed market‑capacity data (processor addresses and throughput), example hauling quotes for representative building and business types, proposed security‑deposit amounts and clearer definitions for de‑minimis waste thresholds and economic‑hardship exemptions.

Next steps: Staff said it will return to committee on May 7 with proposed ordinance language and will continue interagency rulemaking, outreach to affected sectors and development of permitting and diversion‑plan templates. The committee took the briefing for discussion; the item was informational and no committee vote on the ordinance was taken.