Following a series of articles, ads, and radio shows, the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council (SLVEC) is wrapping up its campaign with a road map of the Valley’s recycling activities and fact-filled brochure which it hopes will become a major source of information and messaging tool for creating better recycling access and opportunities. 

Summing up the campaign effort, SLVEC Director Christine Canaly explained “We wanted something more or less permanent that people could reference to understand the Valley’s existing waste diversion and recycling resources, make it interesting and fun to recycle, and let everyone know that ‘we’re stewards of the land, and we have a plan.’ We don’t want to let this go,” Canaly said. 

It was determined by San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council (SLVEC) and the consulting team that the best way to highlight the operating system for waste diversion and recycling for the San Luis Valley was with a map giving a picture of the many places and types of operations involved with recycling.

This “On the Road to Recycling Map” appears in this addition of Lifestyles to reach a population of over 46,000 across the Valley’s 8,100 square miles (bigger than the whole state of Massachusetts).

Hopefully presented and illustrated in an entertaining way, the map portrays the very serious business of waste diversion and recycling which is taking place on a much larger scope and effort than most of us realize. Please pull it out the insert and use!

The SLVEC map creators believe that by getting to know the system players, with a better understanding of the many roles which have to be played, that a motivating incentive for everyone to participate, will occur.

This is a first time effort to coordinate all available resources, so users of the map will find it possible to: 1) get a comprehensive and organized view of where the Valley’s recycling facilities and operations are located, 2) what kinds of materials are being collected in these various locations, and 3) contact information of these places.

For example, scanning the map’s symbols and locator functions can help to find the entities responsible for specialties in electronics recycling, scrap metal, used clothing, printer ink cartridges, and other items.

Operational specialties found on the map even include some composting operations from farm waste, and conversion of mushroom farm waste into potting soil, which is the only example we could find of “closed loop” recycling where the end-market is also local and requires no transportation expense.

To note a few things which may not be easily discernible from a casual look at the map, the SLVEC team would emphasize the location of the region’s major landfill west of Monte Vista which manages over 90% of the waste generated in the Valley, and the great distances involved for communities located in the southern, south-east, far north, and far western areas to reach it.

A closer look at the map also reveals that the only facilities and drop-off locations for recyclables generated from the regular household and business waste stream include Alamosa’s Rickey Recycling Center funded by residents of the city, and a fee-paid roll-off collection at the Regional Landfill.

Not shown on the map, but extensive and significant, are curbside recycling services available in parts of the western half and northern portions of the Valley.

Shaded areas on the map indicate the vast array of public lands, where the waste diversion and recycling system function is essential to keep free of trash and illegal dumping.

As part of SLVEC’s waste diversion and recycling campaign currently underway, a brochure containing the map and a wealth of information will soon be published and available by request by calling the SLVEC office at 719-589-1518, e-mail:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

A few examples of the brochure content include recycling basics, the real long term impacts of waste, what can be learned from recycling systems outside the Valley?, global impacts of not recycling, and the Valley’s ten-year plan to broaden recycling access and service improvements.
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06-06-18_Mapping-Valley-Roads-to-Recycling_PressRelease-3.final.pdf351.73 KB

SLVEC Waste Reduction and Recycling PRESS RELEASE #2
“Gaps in Service and Missing Resources Found in Valley’s Quest for Recycling”

Did you know, out of the 50 billion bottles of water being bought each year, the US consumes 1,500 plastic water bottles every second? 80% end up in a landfill, even though recycling programs exist. 17 million barrels of oil are used in producing bottled water each year. With much more information to come from the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council’s (SLVEC) campaign to promote recycling and improvements needed for its 10-year plan, SLVEC is taking a critical look at the recycling assets that are in place, reviewing possible ways of using existing services to full benefit potential and considering actions taken by other Colorado rural areas to advance waste diversion and recycling systems.

Waste Diversion & Recycling Campaign

Press Release
Immediate Release 04/19/18
Contact: John Stump, RREO Campaign Manager (719) 589-2917
SLVEC Office: (719) 589-1518

“You deserve it, we deserve it”

ALAMOSA --- The San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council (SLVEC) is launching an outreach-education campaign to raise public awareness about waste diversion and recycling.

Outreach-education materials to be made available at least through June
Campaign information delivered via a variety of media between now and June 30 will provide opportunities to better understand waste diversion; brush up on basic knowledge about recycling and its benefits; easily locate major recycling facilities throughout the Valley; learn how other communities in the State of Colorado have implemented a successful recycling program; and determine strategies to control and prevent illegal dumping.
A review of the successful operations in other parts of Colorado will also be tailored for use by public officials and community leaders who could eventually determine an appropriate model for funding and governance that will work here.