Colorado HB21-1162 banned single-use plastic carryout bags statewide effective January 2024. Stores must charge ten cents per recycled paper bag. Denver follows the state rule; small businesses with three or fewer locations are exempt.
Colorado House Bill 21-1162, the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, became fully effective January 1, 2024. It bans grocery stores, retailers, and other large stores from providing single-use plastic carryout bags. Recycled-content paper bags may be provided for a mandatory fee of ten cents each, with sixty percent retained by the city or county and forty percent kept by the retailer for compliance costs. SNAP and WIC purchases are exempt from the fee. Small stores operating three or fewer locations and not part of a chain are exempt from the rule. Denver enforces alongside DDPHE solid waste regulations. Restaurants distributing carryout bags for prepared food are exempt under HB21-1162 carve-outs.
Distributing banned plastic bags or failing to charge the ten-cent fee violates HB21-1162 with civil penalties of five hundred dollars for a second offense and one thousand dollars per subsequent offense by retail location.
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