Earth Day was marked last week, on April 22 – a reminder that environmental stewardship isn’t a once-a-year exercise. It is, or should be, a daily one.
Durango has long leaned into that idea – and is continuing to make progress.
A new statewide producer responsibility program the city is pursuing could shift much of the cost of recycling away from residents and onto the companies that create the packaging – potentially reducing or eliminating monthly fees (Herald, April 17).
That’s a welcome change and reflects a broader commitment in the city’s sustainability efforts: aligning responsibility with impact.
For decades, the cost of waste has fallen on local governments and residents. The logic behind this shift is simple: if a company creates a product – an aluminum can, a cardboard box, a plastic container – it should share responsibility for its end of life.
But even with this progress, recycling alone isn’t enough.
The familiar mantra – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – took hold in the early 1970s alongside the first Earth Day and was reinforced by the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. It is a hierarchy: reduce first, reuse what you can, and recycle what’s left.
Over time, that hierarchy flattened. Recycling became the focus, while reduction faded.
That shift didn’t happen by accident.
The iconic “Crying Indian” ad – remembered for the tear rolling down a Native American’s cheek and the line, “People start pollution. People can stop it.” – delivered a powerful message: pollution is the result of individual choices.
What it left out was equally important.
By centering litter, not production, attention shifted away from the rise of disposable packaging. Industry groups resisted policies like bottle bills that would have required producers to take responsibility. Recycling grew, but largely as a system funded by communities, even as waste volumes increased.
As Annie Leonard’s 2007 short documentary The Story of Stuff (viewable at storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/) explains, the materials economy still follows a linear path: extract, produce, consume, dispose. Recycling comes at the end, managing waste rather than preventing it.
If residents are serious about reducing waste, the conversation must begin upstream.
That means fewer single-use items, less packaging, and more durable goods. It means reuse – refill systems, bulk purchasing, and choosing secondhand over new. Durango has a wide range of thrift and gently used clothing stores, offering an alternative to fast fashion and cheaply made goods that quickly end up in the waste stream. Local options also include refill services such as WeFill and bulk sections at Durango Natural Foods and Nature’s Oasis.
It also means taking organic waste seriously. Food scraps and yard waste can be composted rather than buried. Local efforts – including Table to Farm Compost – have already shown what’s possible.
That matters even more given the reality at Bondad Landfill, which is already about two-thirds full and has an estimated seven years of capacity remaining (Herald, March 21, 2025). Organic waste makes up roughly 30% to 40% of what is buried there – material that could instead be composted into nutrient-rich soil, improving soil health, reducing methane, extending the landfill’s life and lowering costs.
Expanding composting will take both participation and support – an effort the city is now advancing, in part, through a community survey on organic waste open through May 17. Visit engage.durangoco.gov/composting-service-options.
There are further steps the city could take. Rate structures could reward smaller trash bins and lower waste generation. Producer responsibility funding could support composting and reuse – not just recycling. And residents have a role: choose reusable over disposable, buy in bulk or secondhand, and think twice before adding more “stuff” to the waste stream.
The new producer responsibility program is a step forward – but not enough on its own. Real progress will require more policies like it: ones that reduce waste at its source and put responsibility where it belongs – on those who produce it in the first place.
