Boulder rethinking disposable bag fee, other plastic waste measures

Aug. 27—Backed by a new state law, Boulder is reworking its disposable bag fee program and considering other measures related to eliminating the use of single-use plastics.

The Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, signed into law last summer, phases out single-use plastic bags, polystyrene cups and containers and reverses a law that prohibits municipalities from passing individual ordinances to address plastic waste.

With the statewide disposable bag fee set to take effect at the start of 2023 and the other measures being phased in the following year, Boulder climate staff are beginning to plan for the effects of the law on the city.

In an Aug. 18 meeting, climate staff recommended increasing the citywide disposable bag fee, which has been in effect in Boulder for nearly a decade, to 20 cents per bag at all retail stores in the city and phasing in small stores that are not currently participating in the program.

With Gov. Jared Polis' signature last summer, Colorado became the 10th state to ban single-use plastic shopping bags in certain stores and the eighth to ban foam food containers.

The statewide change has long been advocated for by Boulder staff and Boulder-based recycling nonprofit Eco-Cycle, both of which recognize the extent of the plastic problem in the country.

Jamie Harkins, with Boulder's Climate Initiatives department, referenced a recent Beyond Plastics report, which demonstrated that 130 plastic manufacturing facilities in the nation emit at least 114 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.

It's not a problem that recycling alone can solve.

"We cannot recycle our way out of this problem. Only 9% of plastic that has ever been produced on this planet has been recycled," Randy Moorman, Eco-Cycle's director of legislative and community campaigns, stated in a news release at the time the bill was signed.

"Colorado's new law helps us implement systemic change to turn off the faucet and stem the flow of plastic consumption, especially of unnecessary plastic items like single-use bags and polystyrene takeout containers," Moorman added.

The state plastics bill also reversed municipal preemption, allowing Boulder to create policies as strict as the state's or stricter.

"Up until now, local governments were prevented from regulating plastic materials," Harkins said. "However, with this preemption repeal, these policy options will broaden for us."

This also is beneficial as the city continues to examine what else it can do to reduce plastic use in Boulder.

"As we think about our circular economy goals and the role that a city can play in accelerating that transition, it's really critical to have a longer term plan for phasing out disposable plastics that are not of high value," Harkins said.

Boulder has had its own disposable bag fee in place since July 2013, when it instituted a 10-cent fee on all disposable plastic and paper checkout bags to be charged at all food stores in Boulder, regardless of the establishment's size.

Stores retain 4 cents, while 6 cents are remitted to the city. Since it's a fee not a tax, the revenue can be narrowly spent on addressing the impacts of disposable bags.

Because of this, it's in a good place.

"We are ahead of the game," Harkins said. "Many, many cities across Colorado do not have a system in place. They don't have the tax forms. We have that all in place already."

The City Council on Aug. 18 generally expressed support for the staff's recommendations.

However, some did express concerns about the general effectiveness of the disposable bag fee in its intended goal of eliminating the use of disposable bags at stores.

"What was a little distressing to me was that the number doesn't seem to be dropping off," Councilmember Bob Yates said.

Indeed, according to city data, bag use has stayed at a relatively consistent level with about 4 million to 4.5 million bags used annually at all stores, resulting in average bag fee revenue of approximately $60,000 per quarter.

Further, others urged creativity, given the community's unquestionable desire to fight climate change. More than a third of the respondents prioritized it in a recent citywide survey, Councilmember Nicole Speer noted.

"Incentivizing behavior is a much more effective tool for individual behavior change than penalties," Speer said.

Councilmembers Mark Wallach and Junie Joseph agreed.

Wallach noted that the city opted against a higher bag fee about a decade ago and questioned whether circumstances had changed.

"For people who are well to do, it's a rounding error," he said. "For people who are not, it becomes a little more burdensome."

Harkins said not much has changed, aside from the culture around disposability. More people recognize its importance and the city has spent a decade distributing reusable bags to the community, she noted.

Additionally, Boulder has an exemption for shoppers on food assistance.

In terms of creativity, there is less wiggle room when it comes to the disposable bag fee, Climate Initiatives Director Jonathan Koehn said. However, the city will have far more capacity for innovation when it comes to developing ideas to tackle single-use plastics.

Moving forward, the city will bring forth an ordinance related to the disposable bag fee for adoption by the City Council and begin conducting education and communication with the community and local businesses. It also will use its racial equity instrument, a process that's meant to determine the impact of citywide decisions.

It can begin instituting single-use plastics solutions next summer. In the meantime, the city plans to develop a plan and engagement process to explore various options. Any ideas will return to the City Council for consideration.