Advancing Recycling in Grand Junction
The City of Grand Junction offers curbside and community drop-off recycling programs that have evolved to expand services throughout the community.
As Grand Junction continues to grow, the City continues to invest in modern recycling infrastructure to improve efficiency, expand capacity, and ensure the long-term success of recycling in our region.
What is a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)?
A Materials Recovery Facility, or MRF, is a specialized facility where recyclable materials are received from collection trucks, sorted using advanced equipment, separated by material type—such as paper, cardboard, metals, plastics, and glass—and prepared for shipment to recycling markets. The City’s new MRF will use modern sorting technology designed to process recyclables more efficiently and effectively than current methods.
The City selected Bruin Waste through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process to support the growing demands of local and regional solid waste and recycling needs. In April 2025, the City purchased a 58,000-square-foot building on approximately 10 acres located off of 32 Rd. The facility is being designed to accept and process all recycling streams—including multistream and single stream recyclable materials, providing flexibility as the recycling system continues to modernize.
A Regional Recycling Hub for Western Colorado
Once operational, the new MRF will serve City collection vehicles and also provide processing capacity for recycling haulers across the Western Slope. This regional approach allows the City to operate more efficiently while expanding access to modern recycling infrastructure for Mesa County and surrounding communities.
To support development of the facility, the City was awarded a record $9.82 million grant from the Colorado Circular Communities (C3) Program. This funding will help purchase advanced sorting equipment and support initial operating expenses, representing a significant investment in sustainability and circular economy goals for Western Colorado.
Detailed engineering and building modifications are currently underway to prepare the facility for equipment installation. Following installation and system testing, the new MRF is expected to open in late 2026. The City will provide ongoing updates on this webpage for the facility.
The new MRF will serve commercial collection vehicles only. The community recycling drop off site on the Municipal Campus at 333 West Avenue will remain open to the public, continuing its role as a valued and well-used community resource.
Preparing for the Future of Recycling in Grand Junction
Recycling participation in Grand Junction continues to grow. In 2025 alone, the City processed 3,190,927 pounds of recyclable material—the equivalent of approximately 2,600 adult bull moose roaming the Grand Mesa or 1,600 mature trees! This project ensures the City can keep pace with that growth while building a more resilient, efficient recycling system that serves residents, businesses, and public spaces now and into the future.
As the new facility is developed, the City is converting dual stream recycling to a single stream model, where all accepted recyclable materials are placed into one bin. This change will make recycling easier and more convenient for residents, increase participation, and support higher diversion rates by keeping more material out of the landfill.
During the interim period before the new MRF opens, recyclables collected in single stream areas will be processed at another qualified recycling facility. Once the MRF is online, the City will be able to advance remaining customers to the single stream recycling program. The City remains committed to transparency and to ensuring that all accepted recyclable materials collected are recycled and never landfilled.