CEDC – Colorado's Circular Economy Development Center Website

The Circular Economy Development Center

Innovative, Collaborative Circular Solutions Built for Colorado

Advancing Business Development in Colorado: Innovative Solutions for a Sustainable Circular Economy

Every year, Americans throw out approximately 300 million tons of products—and just a fraction of those products are revitalized, recycled, and/or reused. That figure likely includes your product(s), along with thousands of others that were thrown out well before the end of their usable lifespan.

So, consider this: you know where your product’s life cycle begins, but where does it end? For many business owners, that’s not an easy question to answer—and that’s why we’re here.

The Circular Economy Development Center is dedicated to helping Colorado’s businesses transition toward a more sustainable future, achieve the maximum value from their products, and ultimately, reimagine the relationship between our economy and the environment.

A better future for products (and the planet) starts with you. Keep reading to learn more about the CEDC, what we do, and how we’re helping Colorado’s industry move toward a circular economy.

Our Key Objectives

1 Create circular economy solutions for three materials in Colorado.

Working with companies to create or expand end markets for materials currently being recycled or to start diverting materials currently going to landfills by: designing the solution, aligning the stakeholders, coordinating the execution of the plan, and developing grant proposals in alignment with the solution.

Image source: Circular Colorado

2 Engage with stakeholders state-wide, creating physical and virtual spaces for collaboration and innovation.

Creating sustainable, circular economies requires a holistic approach. We aim to work closely with stakeholders (statewide and regionally) to provide a platform for business collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving.

3 Analyze markets and supply chains, including transportation and manufacturing, to show how materials flow within Colorado and regionally.

Understanding regional markets and supply chains is critical to identifying opportunities for circularity. We will complete a gap analysis that focuses on commodity movement, Colorado’s manufacturing opportunities, local and regional end markets, and business development prospects.

What is a Circular Economy?

Circular Economy: An industrial system that is restorative or regenerative by design. In other words, a circular business model uses resources efficiently and prioritizes renewable inputs.

Circular economies maximize a product’s usable lifespan to achieve maximum value. At the end of the product’s life, the product and any by-products in its manufacturing are recovered and reused to make new materials or products.

In a circular economy, products are no longer designed to have a life cycle with a distinct beginning, middle, and end.

Designers and business owners play an essential role in choosing materials that are fit for the circular economy. Not all materials are suitable for use in circular products because they contain chemicals that may be polluting or potentially hazardous for humans and/or the environment.

Similarly, recyclers, waste disposal professionals, and many others are vital to the success of a circular economy, particularly when it comes to keeping products out of our landfills.

What is the Circular Economy Development Center?

The Circular Economy Development Center is a program of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment aimed at empowering and facilitating connections between sectors in Colorado and regionally to create circular economy solutions using materials that Coloradans recycle.

In other words, we aim to provide circular solutions and to foster the round-table discussions that lead us there. We’re not here to “paint with a broad brush.” We engage and work closely with stakeholders to mediate solutions that work for our businesses, communities, and environment alike.

Ultimately, our goal is to create individual, scalable pathways toward circular economies—and step one is creating beneficial collaboration and innovation between Colorado businesses.

Our mission: We assist companies striving for circularity by helping them advance their business or locate to Colorado.

What We Do

The Circular Economy Development Center is the nucleus of circular solutions. Focused on business, the Circular Economy Development Center helps companies transform wasteful linear consumption models to circular ones through:

The Circular Economy Development Center provides guidance, access to resources and technical assistance and funding (when available) to generate and support circular-economic development.

Interested in Establishing or Expanding Your Own Circular Solution in Colorado?

We’re here to help! Click the link below to connect with our team and tell us about your circular solution.

Circular Economy and Extended Producer Responsibility

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) plays a critical role in a circular economy—these concepts are connected.

Extended Producer Responsibility is defined as…

“An environmental policy approach in which a producer’s responsibility for a product is extended to the post-consumer stage of a product’s life cycle.”

– The Organization for Economic Collaboration and Development (OECD)

The development of extended producer responsibility (EPR) encourages the development of circular business models by directly involving manufacturers in end-of-life solutions for the products they make.

Click here to learn more about EPR in the state of Colorado.

Who We Work With & How to Get Involved

Developing a more sustainable standard of business is a group effort—it takes all of us to create meaningful change. We’re committed to getting as many stakeholders involved as possible.

If you represent any of the following sectors, we would love to hear from you! All of these sectors (and more) play a pivotal role in helping create circular economies.

Recyclers

Manufacturers

Transporters

Rural Communities

Federal, State & Local Governments

Higher Education

Economic Development Programs

Funders and Investors

Convening can happen virtually, but the richest interactions are most often in person. Our vision for the CEDC is to branch out and work with partners and collaborators to create satellite work spaces to foster innovation, workshops, strategic planning, and community connection.

Take Part in Growing Colorado’s Circular Economies

Are you interested in establishing or expanding a circular solution in Colorado? Could your circular solution benefit from the CEDC’s expertise in project management and network building?

If so, CEDC staff would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your project. Click the link below to connect with our team and tell us about your circular solution.

Target Markets

The Center will explore public-private partnerships to leverage the strength of both sectors and help provide economies of scale to expand a circular economy.

The goal of the CEDC is to expand three end markets that already exist in Colorado and create three new end markets in Colorado. Watch for more information as the CEDC pursues these goals

Funding

The Circular Economy Development Center was established by the Colorado state legislature via HB22-1159 to grow existing markets; create new markets; and provide necessary infrastructure, systems, logistics, and marketing to create a sustainable circular economy for recycled commodities in Colorado. The CEDC is funded through the Colorado Circular Communities (C3) Enterprise housed at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Get in Touch

Email us at c3.inquiries@state.co.us.
The CEDC does not issue grants. For C3 Grant info, visit coloradocircularcommunities.org.