The City of Fort Collins is in the process of building a brand new community recycling center, expected to be complete by summer or early fall of this year. The new and improved facility will be located at 1903 South Timberline Road – just south of Prospect, and less than a mile away from where the currently operating drop-off site sits on Riverside Avenue. Along with the relocation, the City will also be expanding the facility so that it's able to take in many of the typically "hard-to-recycle" items, that were not previously accepted. This means that in addition to accepting the usual things like cardboard, paper, bottles and cans, the Timberline Center will also allow for residents to recycle their old batteries and electronic waste, yard debris, metals, untreated scrap wood, and oil. A drop-off fee may be charged for some of these items, as their recycling process calls for extra resources, however the price to pay is small when considering the harmful chemicals and toxic wastes that would otherwise be piling up in our landfills, slowly destroying the earth. This new location will also function as a paint collection center, permitting limited quantities of latex and oil-based paint, as well as stains and primers, to be dropped off for disposal.

Not only are the efforts of this expansion project helping to protect the planet, but it's also positively supporting the city's long-term goals for overall waste reduction and their plan to drastically decrease greenhouse gas emissions over the next four years. Building the new center is also directly addressing the wishes of Fort Collins residents, after many of whom voiced requests to the City asking for easier and more abundant recycling opportunities – especially for those "hard-to-recycle" materials like the kinds listed above. To keep updated with the Timberline Center's construction progress and to learn more about what items can and cannot be recycled, visit: fcgov.com/recycling.

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