About

As Compost and CHaRM (Center for Hard-to-Recycle Materials) Manager at Boulder, CO-based Eco-Cycle, Dan Matsch has seen nearly all of the city’s no-longer-wanted items come through his facility. From athletic shoes and cooking oil, to bike parts and toilets, CHaRM has offers a recycling solution to community members in this affluent Rocky Mountain town. The 30-year-old company is one of the largest nonprofit recyclers in the U.S., and is aiming to make Boulder the model zero-waste city for the world. Matsch, whose recycling career stretches back to the ’80s, also spent time as an organic farmer for 14 years in Boulder. His keen understanding of composting procedures means big resource savings for the city, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions as well. “The beautiful thing about zero waste is it’s not looking only at what happens when we’re discarding stuff and what can we recycle and compost,” Matsch explains. “It’s also looking at what we call the ‘midstream longevity’ of a product’s use and maximizing that product’s longevity through reuse, repair and working with industries to make their designs more durable.” Visit the Eco-Cycle website. Dan Matsch appeared on Green is Good on November 5, 2011.