Colorado ranks 20th on list of ‘greenest' states in U.S.

DENVER – Colorado is known for its natural beauty and exceptional access to outdoor recreation, but the Centennial State is in the middle of the pack when it comes to being eco-friendly.

That’s according to financial website WalletHub, which put Colorado in 20th place on its list of “greenest” U.S. states.

To come up with the list, WalletHub looked at a multitude of factors, including the amount of trash per capita, water quality, the number of LEED-certified buildings, amount of energy from renewable sources and greenhouse gas emissions per capita.

Colorado earned high marks for solar power, coming in first place nationwide for the total capacity of solar power systems per 100,000 households.

When looking at the other factors in the ranking, however, it becomes clear why Colorado didn’t rank any higher on the list.

Colorado does especially badly when it comes to waste management. According to WalletHub’s report, the state’s residents produce 1.53 tons of solid waste per capita, more than all but five states in the U.S.

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise following a report last month that Denver residents recycled just 20 percent of their trash in 2016. The average recycling rate nationwide is 34 percent.

Colorado also earned bad score for soil quality, daily water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

At least Colorado didn’t earn the title of least ‘green’ state. That distinction goes to Wyoming.

For more information, log on to WalletHub.com.