BY FREDA MIKLIN
STAFF WRITER
The time has come for everyone to start carrying around reusable shopping bags. It will save you money and help the environment.
It was July 6, 2021 when Governor Polis signed HB 21-1162 Management of Plastic Products. This law, effective January 1, 2023, requires any store owner in Colorado who provides “a recycled paper carryout bag or a single use plastic carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale,” to charge said customer “a fee of 10 cents per bag or a higher fee adopted by the municipality or county in which the store is located.” Many cities in our state have already started requiring stores to charge 10 cents per plastic bag. Denver put it into effect on July 1, 2021.
Next year, there will be another change to the policy created by this state law. Beginning January 1, 2024, the only stores in Colorado that will be allowed to even provide a single-use plastic bag, for at least 10 cents, to their customers, are, “restaurants and small stores that operate solely in Colorado and have three or fewer locations.”
After January 1, 2024, all stores in Colorado who do not fall within that exception will only be permitted to furnish a recycled paper carryout bag to customers at the point-of-sale for a fee of at least 10 cents. Single-use plastic bags will be prohibited. Also, cities and counties will retain the ability to increase the fee for recycled paper carryout bags above 10 cents.
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