Plastic Pollution

Plastic bags are allowed at large retailers throughout 2023, with changes coming in 2024,  as long as they charge the 10-cent fee for the plastic bag. Did they charge the fee?  

If they are in Larimer County but not Fort Collins, they are impacted by the State of Colorado Plastic Pollution Reduction Act. Some communities in Colorado have not implemented the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act because the State allowed cities and counties to choose how to enforce/implement it. 

Thank you for reaching out with your question. Our community/Council and the State of Colorado are addressing plastic pollution by administering bag fees and bans to encourage reusable options to save money and mitigate plastic pollution. Similar to promoting reusable bags shopping, we know that reusable water bottles are a great alternative to plastic bottles. The difference between these two plastic materials comes down to recycling markets and accessibility to recycling for customers. Water bottles have a viable market in curbside recycling, where plastic bags and other plastic films cannot go in curbside and need to be taken to drop-off. 

The Fort Collins Disposable Bag Ordinance and the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act address a large amount of plastic pollution in our community but do not capture all the different plastic materials that impact our health and environment. In addition, Colorado has passed the Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act. By implementing this Act, the State of Colorado is putting the producers responsible for the end life of a product, such as water bottles, containers, jugs, etc. zero

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Bag fees and bans are steps in transitioning consumer behaviors and the single-use plastics market. Policies across the United States show us that switching to reusable is essential for climate, waste, and air quality goals. Corporate responsibility for these single-use products is another crucial step in reducing and mitigating these unsustainable items. The State of Colorado has passed the Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act, or House Bill 22-1355. Producer Responsibility programs address the materials circulated in our economy and create more closed-loop recycling systems that put the responsibility on the producer. 

While Fort Collins community members have access to film recycling, such as plastic bags at the Timberline Recycling Center, by banning plastic bags, we are mitigating the entire life cycle of a plastic bag from production to disposal in our communities. 

Thank you for your questions. We do not have data on the number of plastic garbage bags bought in Fort Collins. While the reuse of plastic bags has been a great way to extend the life of what otherwise would be a single-use bag, the switch to reusable, compostable, or recyclable materials in our daily lives is essential. Examples of switching from plastic bags include using paper bags instead of plastic, using pet food bags or other unavoidable bags or packaging for waste disposal, or purchasing bags made from renewable resources, recycled content, or compostable.  We have more tips on this website to reduce and reuse!