Colorado's Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (HB21-1162, CRS §25-17-501) banned single-use plastic carryout bags effective 2024 and requires a 10-cent fee on paper bags. Boulder pioneered a similar local fee in 2013 and aligns with the state law.
Boulder enacted a 10-cent disposable bag fee on grocery checkout in 2013 — one of the earliest in the United States — funding reusable-bag distribution and the Cool Boulder green-clean program. The Colorado Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (HB21-1162, codified at CRS §25-17-501 et seq.) made the model statewide: as of January 1, 2024, retailers may not provide single-use plastic carryout bags, and they must charge at least 10 cents per recycled-paper bag. Restaurants and small stores under three locations are partially exempt. Sixty percent of fee revenue stays with the municipality for waste-reduction programs. Boulder uses its share to fund Cool Boulder green-clean education, reusable-bag giveaways, and litter cleanup along Boulder Creek.
Distributing prohibited single-use plastic carryout bags or failing to collect and remit the 10-cent paper-bag fee can result in a written warning followed by escalating administrative penalties under the state act and Boulder code.
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See how Boulder's plastic bag rules rules stack up against other locations.
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