Strong Future Recycling Grants
To work toward Summit County’s community goal of 40% waste diversion by 2035, Summit County Government created the Strong Future Community Grants program to support projects that prevent waste and increase local waste diversion. High Country Conservation Center (HC3) manages the program, which has $285,000 allocated for grants in 2025. Grants are funded through Strong Future, a mill levy approved by Summit County voters in 2018.
Learn more about the projects happening below.
2024 Grant Recipients & Projects
A-Basin will expand and upgrade their employee recycling programs, improve base area waste collection, and purchase waste diversion bins for employee housing units. By improving services to both employees and the community, Arapahoe Basin will drive increased recycling participation.
CAFE Food Rescue collects and redistributes surplus food from events facilities, caterers, restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores across Summit County. During the grant period, they will recover 109,000 pounds of food (90,800 meals), thereby addressing 16% of the food insecurity in our community.
Copper will expand their recycling sorting facilities by building a sorting platform to allow employees to efficiently and safely source separate recyclables. This will increase collection of aluminum, a highly valuable material, which will be processed locally at the SCRAP.
Summit Fire & EMS will develop a fire extinguisher recycling program, a need in the community that does not currently exist. They will hire a part-time position to disassemble extinguishers & organize the pieces for scrap metal recycling, and support training for a special needs community member to become a local fire extinguisher service technician.
The Town of Frisco will demolish the existing building at 602 Galena Street (to become workforce housing) and divert as much waste as possible during the demolition. Grant funds will be used to hire a Resource Recovery Project Manager and Consultant to oversee diversion, and to create a case study that serves as a model for sustainable construction practices.
2023 Grant Recipients & Projects
The compost bin project at Grand Timber Lodge aims to establish a comprehensive composting program with bins in every residence. Anticipating engagement from over 30,435 stakeholders, the initiative is set for full execution by September of 2023. Similarly, the Grand Colorado on Peak 8 Dishwasher project will install a commercial dishwasher by July 2023, reducing single-use plastic waste by over 50,000 cups and 8,000 items.
CAFE Food Rescue collects surplus food from various sources across Summit County and distributes to recipient organizations, reducing food waste and curbing emissions by 154 MT CO2eq. In the upcoming year, CAFE Food Rescue aims to recover 100,000 pounds of food, providing 83,000 meals and addressing 17% of local food insecurity.
Garbage Gurus aims to address Summit County’s environmental and workforce challenges through sustainable waste handling solutions. Goals include launching food scrap collection service, expanding recycling services, and reducing costs for workforce communities. This project will decrease landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, promote sustainability, lower collection expenses, and enhance the county’s environment.
Copper Mountain Resort will implement the first and only community food scrap drop-off location at Copper Mountain at the Conoco off Frontage Road.
Since 2015, Breckenridge Town has managed 10 commercial glass recycling enclosures downtown, serving 250+ businesses and residents. This project aims to sustain this program to meet material management goals from the SustainableBreck plan. The Town commits to diverting 40% of waste and views the glass recycling initiative as pivotal. Currently diverting 275 tons yearly, this program enables separate glass recycling, supporting Summit County’s requirements. The project’s ongoing aim is continuous waste diversion via glass recycling.
This project aims to enhance the Village at Copper’s recycling by deploying animal-proof bins for glass collection at bus stops and parks, while also introducing glass-only recycling bins to residential complexes and community assets. Bilingual recycling signs will also be included at 42 buildings. With Strong Future funding, The Village at Copper will invest in wildlife-resistant bins for separate glass collection, greatly improving the recycling system.
The Village HOA in Frisco will replace their community trash dumpster with a multi-use Universal Recycling structure. This will enable responsible sorting and disposal of glass, plastic, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and trash. The project aims to divert at least 1/3 of the annual 63-ton landfill waste.
