Donation & Recycling Resources
Denver Metro Area
**This is a live document and always a work in progress! Please check websites or call organizations for most current info and accepted items.
**If you have resources you’d like to add to the list, please email us at maggie@makeitneat.co
Unhoused, disadvantaged, under-served communities
The Action Center - hygiene items, clean clothing, linens, infant items (Lakewood)
Denver Rescue Mission Ministry - serves people experiencing homelessness and addiction (North Denver)
Haven of Hope Day Shelter - accepts men’s & women’s clothing, hygiene ietms (Drop off M-F 7am-1pm in alley. Santa Fe Arts District)
Movement 5280 - supports at-risk and unhoused youth and young adults, accepts books, clothing, accessories, linens, household goods, small tools, craft supplies & more (Englewood)
Mutual Aid Monday - distributes tents, sleeping bags, blankets, clothing, toiletries to unhoused folks (drop-off locations)
St. Francis Center - clothing, shoes, jackets, towels, hygiene items (Ballpark)
Samaritan House - all sizes of clothing, household goods, hygiene items, reusable water bottles, books, bedding, stuffed animals (Ballpark)
Assistance League of Denver Thrift Shop - upscale clothing and miscellaneous (Southeast Denver)
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless - accepting clean winter jackets, hoodies, hats, gloves, scarves and housewares (Ballpark)
Lutheran Family Services - gently used household items and linens for Refugee & Asylee Program (Santa Fe Arts District)
Denver Youth GRASP - supporting at-risk youth, accepts clothing, jackets, gloves, etc. (2713 Welton St., Five Points)
Birdseed Collective - contact for current needs (North Denver)
Almost Home, Inc. - preferably new household & kitchen items (Brighton)
WellPower The Resource Center - most donations welcome - men’s & children’s clothing, hygiene items, winter coats/gloves/hats, baby furniture, sleeping bags, backpacks (Santa Fe Arts District)
Women
The Gathering Place - Food, hygiene items, clothing, baby items, household items (City Park)
Hope House Colorado - clothes and necessities for teen moms (Arvada)
Dress for Success - dropoffs 2nd Saturday of month only, must be clean on hanger (University Hills Plaza)
The Empowerment Program - Women’s clothing closet for participants? (City Park)
Bella Boutique Denver - prom dresses, shoes & accessories
Children
Clothes to Kids of Denver - sizes 4T up to age 21 (South Denver)
A Precious Child - Children and adult clothing, toys & books, essential home goods, etc. (Broomfield, CO)
Hope House Colorado - baby items for teen moms (Arvada)
WeeCycle - accepts most baby items in excellent condition (Northeast Denver)
Community Ministry - clothes for children 12 & under (Southwest Denver)
Samaritan House - kids clothes, stuffed animals (Ballpark)
The Light House - supporting foster children, accepting new/like new items
The Mother List - where to donate toys in Denver
Children’s Hospital Colorado - brand-new, in-box toys only
*Many schools have a clothes closet you can donate to, especially winter jackets, boots, etc.
Domestic Violence Survivors
Rose Andom Center - only accepting new toiletries as of January 2026. They receive vouchers from ARC for clothes.
SafeHouse Denver - new clothing, shoes, boots, new bedding, kitchenwares, hair tools, snacks (North Capital Hill)
LGBTQ
Marsha’s Closet - high-quality gender-affirming clothing and accessories (Transgender Center of the Rockies, Southwest Denver)
Urban Peak - shelter for youth experiencing homelessness (not accepting in-kind donations as of January 2026)
People with Disabilities
ARC Thrift Shops - accepts most items at stores and drop-off locations, also does free furniture pickups
Laradon - Craft supplies, sports balls, hygiene & beauty items, office supplies (North Denver)
Veterans
All of these websites serve Vietnam Veterans of America:
VVApickup.org, PickupPlease.org, ScheduleAPickup.com, ClothingDonations.org, Donation Town
Newcomers/Migrants
Para ti Mujer - accepts donations of women’s & children’s clothing (West Denver)
Elevate for Change - food, clothing, school supplies, hygiene items (formerly Papagayo)
Richard T. Castro Human Services Center - call 303-514-0643 for current needed items
Animals
Soul Dog Rescue Thrift Store - accepts womens clothing, accessories, other items (Englewood)
Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary - accepts towels & linens, many animal/farm related items (Henderson/Thornton)
*Most animal shelters accept used but clean towels and some blankets
Appliances, furniture, etc.
Habitat for Humanity Restore - tools, some furniture & building supplies (Central Denver)
ARC Thrift Stores (pickup of large furniture only)
The Good Used Couch (donates some proceeds to charity)
Armchair Samaritan - free furniture donation pickup, including pianos
Gone for Good - fee based estate cleanouts, recycling, donations & trash
The Diggs Denver - furniture and decor in excellent condition (does pickup)
Mattresses
Charities like Goodwill and ARC do not accept used mattresses. Try posting in Buy Nothing/Free groups!
It is legal to sell used mattresses in Colorado, but they must be disinfected first.
Cut Rate Junk - Junk removal & recycling
Spring Back Colorado - fee-based mattress recycling (pickup or dropoff)
Food
Bienvenidos Food Bank - accepts non-perishable and fresh/frozen foods (Northwest Denver)
Denver Rescue Mission (note - donation dropoff location is off I-70 and Holly St, NOT downtown)
Community Ministry Food Pantry - pantry items and garden produce (Southwest Denver)
Metro Caring - healthy foods and hygiene products (North Capital Hill)
The Action Center - perishable and non-perishable food within 6 months of “best by” date (Lakewood)
Craft Supplies
Recreative Denver - must sort items, donation by appt only (Santa Fe Arts District)
Art Garage Denver - email to see what they’re currently accepting (Park Hill)
Craftsman & Apprentice - cardboard tubes, tin cans, buttons, nuts & bolts, odds & ends (Five Points)
Stout Street Foundation - recovery center accepting art supplies (Commerce City)
Not in Denver? Find a Creative Reuse Center around the world near you!
Books
Dream Books Co. - redistributes and recycles all books (North Denver warehouse, drop boxes around Denver or pickup available)
Book Give - collects and distributes free books (Northwest Denver)
JeffCo Library Foundation/Whale’s Tale Bookstore - accepts book donations at Wheat Ridge warehouse (M & T 9am-4pm)
Little Free Libraries - check map to drop off at an LFL near you!
Park Hill Community Bookstore - purchase a membership ($20/yr) to earn credits for donating books & 15% overall discount
The Book Rack - Accepts some books and puzzles for store credit or cash (University Hills)
2nd & Charles - buys books, collectibles, musical instruments, games & toys, CDs & vinyl, other media (Lakewood, Littleton, Aurora, Broomfield)
Prison Book Program - Nationwide resource, nothing currently in Colorado
*Also, check your local retirement homes & Senior centers, hospitals & psych hospitals for book donations.
Pet Supplies
Humane Colorado - pet care supplies, select food, enrichment items (Southeast Denver)
Eyewear
Lions Clubs - eye glasses only (locations everywhere)
Goodwill - check with specific location
www.donatecontacts.com - unused, not expired contacts, sealed solution, contact cases
Shoes
Soles 2 Souls - donate new or gently worn shoes (find dropbox near you)
Sporting Goods & Outdoor Gear
Mile High Youth Corps - accepts camping gear, hiking boots, large group canopies (Sloan’s Lake)
Mutual Aid Monday - distributes tents, sleeping bags, blankets, clothing, toiletries to unhoused folks (drop-off locations)
Golden Optimist - donate used bicycles (Golden)
Electronics
PCs for People - a nonprofit offering free (donation-based) e-waste pickup & removal (North Denver)
Goodwill - free small electronics recycling
Blue Star Recyclers - fee-based (West Denver)
Staples - fee-based
Best Buy - most free, some items fee-based
Denver Recycles - one free coupon annually to BlueStar for Denver residents
Rage/Smash Rooms:
Usually accept most electronics, lamps and glass/ceramics, and things to smash glass with like baseball bats, golf clubs
Cannot accept old TVs or old computers with the big rear ends.
Super Smash Rooms is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that fundraises for Joyful Journeys (Westminster)
All Out Smash (North Denver)
Textile Recycling
Ridwell - subscription service that does porch pickups every 2 weeks
USagain Tree Machine textile recycling resources
H&M textile recycling - drop off textiles from any brand in bins at any location
Plastic Bags
Firstly, I hope you already know that you CANNOT recycle plastic bags in your curbside bin, and you should not bag your recyclables, basically no matter where you live. If you didn’t know, please check out these links:
Video: Why Plastic Bags Can’t Go With the Regular Recycling
Top 18 Things You Should NOT Recycle Curbside
So, what do you do with them? Find a store near you!
Many stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Whole Foods, Safeway, King Soopers, Sprouts and Lowe’s have plastic bag recycling bins near the entrance.
Batteries
The Battery Network - find locations to recycle rechargeable, single-use and e-bike batteries
Ridwell - Subscription service that does porch pickups every 2 weeks for core items plastic film, light bulbs, threads and batteries, plus a featured category every pickup cycle.
Building Materials
Habitat ReStore - check list for items accepted (Santa Fe Arts District)
Bud’s Warehouse - nonprofit that , accepts household building supplies (Aurora)
Paint
PaintCare - Colorado (drop-off locations up to 5 gal of paint, free pickup of 100+ gal)
Green Sheen - Drop off locations or pick up for 10+ gallons
*Most paint store like Sherwin-Williams and Guiry’s will accept 5 gal of paint per visit.
Hazardous Materials
City of Denver Hazardous Waste Collection - one per year per resident, $15 fee
Rooney Road Recycling - $30 for JeffCo residents, $121.54 out-of-county (for first 75 lbs)
Mesothelioma.net - removing & recycling asbestos
Medication
Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
Denver Health Info & Drop-off Locations
MediCircle - mail in unopened medications for free
Shredding
How long do I need to keep documents?
Office Depot/Office Max - $0.99/lb (as of 9/20/2022). Check website for coupons!
My spreadsheet of local FREE shredding events 2026
Donation Pickup
All of these websites serve Vietnam Veterans of America: VVApickup.org, PickupPlease.org, ScheduleAPickup.com, ClothingDonations.org, Donation Town (free pickup of items that one person can lift alone)
Gone for Good - “junk” haulers that donate, reuse, and recycle(fee-based)
ARC - free pickup of furniture only
ReSupply - partners with Goodwill - fee based
*Most junk hauling companies will also pick up donations for a fee
Junk Removal Services (for a fee)
Cut Rate Junk - junk removal service with environmentally friendly and sustainable business practices
Remedy Pros - junk removal and biohazard cleanup with compassion
JDog Junk Removal - veteran owned & operated, they reuse, recycle, resell, and re-purpose your items whenever possible
Estate Sales
Anne and Anna’s Estate Services (Longmont)
Recycling Info & Resources
Back in the 80s, my dad would drive us to the next town over on Saturday mornings to deposit our recyclables, and he’s still very passionate about it. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about recycling, but I learned a lot from these articles about what is acceptable, what’s not, and why. Please make the time to give them a read!
Are you recycling or ‘wishcycling’?
Quick solutions to the most common recycling mistakes
What can be recycled (in Denver)?
Earth 911 - Largest recycling database in the nation and resource for sustainability
Eco-Friendly Habits for a Budget-Friendly Green Lifestyle (shared by Junior Girl Scout, Harper L.)
Exactly What Every Plastic Recycling Symbol Actually Means
Recycling 101 and more Waste Management Resources
Denver Reuse Business Directory - Find places to repair, rent, or buy used items all while supporting local
SustainAbility - hard-to-recycle items for a fee (Broomfield, Arvada, Westminster)
Eco Officiency - amazing comprehensive list of local and nationwide donation and recycling resources
Ridwell - Subscription program that does porch pickups every 2 weeks for core items plastic film, light bulbs, threads and batteries, plus a featured category every pickup cycle. They partner with as many local groups as possible who have been personally vetted and treat the materials they provide with the highest standards of waste diversion and sustainability.
How & Where to recycle just about anything
USagain Tree Machine - accepts reusable clothing, accessories, footwear, linens (Find a drop box near you)
Other resources
Research a charity before donating:
Online marketplaces to sell or give away items
FB marketplace
FB local buy/sell/trade groups
FB Buy Nothing groups
Colorado Angels
Denver Area Mutual Aid
Craigslist
NextDoor
FreeCycle
OfferUp
ThredUp
Poshmark