Boulder County Launches Packaging Pollution Reduction Pilot

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — Boulder County has launched a pilot program that aims to decrease the environmental impact of food and beverage packaging, officials announced Monday.

The Boulder County Food & Beverage Pollution-Reduced Packaging Pilot will support manufacturers as they transition to pollution-reduced and sustainable packaging formats, county officials said.

The pilot is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Source Reduction Assistance grant program.

“This program will find ways to reduce food packaging impacts by conserving resources at the start of the manufacturing process through the design of reusable, recycled, recyclable, bio-based, and compostable packaging,” said Tim Broderick, senior sustainability strategist at Boulder County’s Office of Sustainability, Climate Action & Resilience.

“With 46 percent of all manufacturing in Boulder County being attributed to the food and beverage industry, there’s a huge opportunity here to support the creation of closed-loop products. We hope this program helps accelerate the local circular economy.”

Don't miss the latest news updates in Boulder: Free Boulder Patch Newsletters and Email Alerts | Facebook | Twitter

The county is asking local food and beverage manufacturers of all sizes to apply to participate in the program.

"Selected businesses will receive up to $10,000 in financial support for sustainable packaging related expenses, technical assistance from subject matter experts, access to tools to evaluate environmental and cost impacts associated with a packaging transition, and workshops where businesses can learn, collaborate, and meet with packaging experts," the county said in a news release.

To be eligible for the pilot program, businesses must be food or beverage manufacturers with headquarters or a business location within Boulder County, officials said.

"Eligible businesses may package their products directly or have a co-packager that they send the products to for packaging. The product packaging may take place outside of Boulder County," the news release read.

>> Eligible food and beverage manufacturers can apply to participate in the program here. Applications close Aug. 13.