WHAT IS ORGANIC RECYCLING?
The plain-English version.
Organic recycling, also called composting, is the process of turning food scraps, plant trimmings, and other organic waste into nutrient-rich soil instead of sending it to a landfill. When organic waste ends up in a landfill, it gets buried, breaks down without oxygen, and releases methane — a greenhouse gas that's roughly 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. When the same waste gets composted, it breaks down naturally with oxygen and becomes something useful: clean, healthy soil that goes back into farms, gardens, and landscapes across Colorado.
Every banana peel, coffee ground, kitchen scrap, and yard trimming we pick up gets hauled to a licensed composting facility, processed into finished compost, and sold or used to grow more food. Nothing wasted. Everything returned. That's the whole point.
WE COLLECT
Twice-weekly pickup from restaurants, hotels, and multifamily properties.
WE HAUL
Direct to a licensed Colorado composting facility.
IT RETURNS
Finished compost goes back into Colorado farms and gardens.
OUR CORE VALUES
Five principles that shape how we work, who we hire, and the way we show up every day.
INTEGRITY
We say what we mean and do what we say. Transparent pricing, honest service, no hidden surprises.
PASSION
We care about this work. About the soil, the city, and the people we serve. It shows in how we do every pickup.
HUMILITY
We're new. We're learning. We ask questions, listen to feedback, and stay grounded in the work — not the title.
COURAGE
Starting something honest in an industry built on opacity takes nerve. We're built to do the hard things the right way.
FAITH
Half the job is in nature's hands. We do our part with care and trust the rest of the cycle to do what it's done for millions of years.
Five values. One promise. Show up, do the work, and let the rest take care of itself.
Ethan Babil · Operator· Denver, CO
MEET THE FOUNDER
HEY, I'M ETHAN
I started Melly's Recycling because Denver deserves better than what the big haulers were offering. Opaque pricing. Long contracts. Surprise fees. A waste industry that treats sustainability like a press release instead of the work.
I wanted to build something honest. Something rooted in craft, transparency, and showing up the same way every day. That's it. That's the whole pitch.
If you're a restaurant owner, hotel operator, or property manager looking for a hauler who picks up the phone and means what they say, that's us.