The state of Colorado has some ambitious sustainability New Year’s Resolutions for 2024 – and it took action to make sure that the lofty goals stick. On January 1, 2024, a new Colorado law will ban retailers from supplying single-use plastic bags for their customers’ purchases, making Colorado the eleventh state to join the fight in phasing out single-use plastics via legal action.
Colorado didn’t go completely cold turkey when it came to making the transition away from single-use plastic bags. To ease Coloradans into the sustainability mindset, on January 1, 2023, Colorado mandated a $0.10 fee per carry-out bag requested upon checkout as part of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act. Though a dime may not seem like a huge fee, the up-charge was enough to get many people to invest in reusable bags to bring with them to the store.
As Phase II of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act rolls out in 2024, if customers don’t bring reusable bags, they will still have the option to pay $0.10 for a paper bag.
In addition to changes at the retail level, the law will also impact food establishments from distributing Styrofoam to-go containers. Better alternatives that these businesses can strive for include using compostable paper containers or partnering with reusable container brands such as Deliver Zero and r.Cup.
Why are plastic bags bad for the planet?
Though plastic was originally created to become the new face of sustainability (crazy I know!), plastic now poses a huge threat to the environment. Here’s some fast facts:
The US uses about 380 million plastic bags annually, which requires over 12 MILLION barrels of oil to produce.
You’ve probably already heard about the dangers that plastic bags pose to marine life via campaigns like “Save the Turtles”, but the risk of plastic contamination impacts us too. Plastic bags can emit cancer-inducing chemicals into the animals that consume the plastic, which passes toxins and microplastics up the food chain (that means to us!).
It takes hundreds of years for plastic bags to degrade in landfills, so they will continue to contaminate and pollute the planet for a very long time.
Therefore, the push to ban plastic bags to reduce their toll on the planet is extremely important!!!
Paying kudos where due:
Though I focused this article on Colorado, Rhode Island is also banning plastic bags at the start of the New Year in 2024!! They’ll be joining New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maine, Vermont, California, Connecticut, Oregon, Hawaii, Washington, and now Colorado in the full-fledged fight against plastic pollution. Hooray!!
What can you do?
Say you don’t live in one of the places listed above – no fear! You can still make sustainable progress on your state’s behalf. Here are four great ideas how:
Invest in your own reusable bags and bring them to your local retailer when shopping!
Forget your reusable bag at home? Try to carry your purchases in your purse/backpack/your arms. If all else fails, just ask for a paper bag instead. To avoid this mistake, I often will leave extras in the trunk of my car.
Sign up for trash clean-ups in your city! The Lions Club and Rotary Club usually sponsor opportunities for you to help pick up plastic waste, but if not, put on some gloves and do it yourself! I promise, you won’t have to walk far to find loads of plastic waste.
Initiate a plastic bag ban campaign in your town/city. The Plastic Pollution Coalition has a great page that outlines steps to go about this here.
Do you have a favorite reusable bag? Why do you love it? Maybe for its quirky design, functionality, reliability, or all of the above? Comment a description down below!
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