(COLORADO) — HB 21-1162 passed and was signed into law in the summer of 2022 by Colorado’s government. This is the law that has set into motion the new bag fees and leads to the complete abolition of single-use plastic bags and expanded polystyrene food containers.
To kick off the changes this law has made, everyone in the state of Colorado is now required to pay ten cents per bag, and it’s on local municipalities, counties, and the stores themselves to enforce this.
Bread & Butter Neighborhood Market co-owner Aubrey Say said, “So we’ve always just used paper bags in our store. We’ve never offered plastic. We have started charging $0.10 center per bag per the law and also selling reusable bags in our store as we have from the beginning.”
Stores across the state have implemented changes to comply with the law including adding the step of saying how many bags are being used per transaction.
Walmart Global Communications Director for the Western U.S., Lauren Willis said, “Beginning Sunday, January 1, 2023, Walmart stores in Colorado will no longer provide single-use plastic or paper bags at checkout or pickup. Delivery will shift to paper bags. We are working hard to ensure a seamless and convenient shift to reusable bags for our customers and associates. Eliminating single-use bags is part of our commitment to achieve zero waste across our operations and ultimately shift gradually toward a circular economy built on advancing reuse, refill, and recycling habits.”
The revenue from the fees and possible fines from this law will be used to cover administrative and enforcement costs for municipalities and counties. Any revenue collected is not exempt from TABOR and the refund to taxpayers could increase.
More changes will come down the pike with this law as well. Here is the timeline that was laid out in the Final Fiscal Note for HB 21-1162:
Jan. 1, 2023 – carryout bag fee enacted in stores; local governments may enforce and assess civil penalties
Jan. 1, 2024 – single-use plastic carryout bags prohibited in stores and retail food establishments, excluding current inventory
Jan. 1, 2024 – expanded polystyrene prohibited in retail food establishments, excluding current inventory
July 1, 2024 – Local governments may enact, implement, or enforce more stringent regulations
The bill was primarily sponsored by Representatives Alex Valdez and Lisa Cutter and Senators Julie Gonzales and Leroy Garcia, all Democrats. All of the sponsors were also Democrats. The bill passed with little bipartisan support with only five Republican State Representatives of the 23 that voted chose to vote yes and no Republican State Senators voting for it in the final votes in each chamber.
Worth noting is that one Democrat State Senator voted no out of 21 who voted and three Democrat State Representatives voted no out of 42 who voted. In total, the State House cast 65 votes and the State Senate cast 35 votes with one being excused.
Alternatives to single-use plastic bags include purchasable reusable bags and a variety of trunk/vehicle storage options.
