DENVER — Paying for paper bags at the store could be a thing of the past.
Under current Colorado law, retailers are not allowed to provide single-use plastic bags. Stores can offer recycled paper bags, but it'll cost the customer at least 10 cents per bag.
State lawmakers have proposed House Bill 25-1051 to repeal requirements for retailers to charge a fee for those recycled paper bags.
“Obviously, it's 10 cents, but it's something that I've heard from my constituents as far as excessive fees, regressive taxes. People are hurting,” said State Representative Ryan Gonzalez, District 50 - R, a sponsor of the bill.
The bill, which is also sponsored by House Minority Leader Rose Pugliese and Senator Byron Pelton, District 1 - R, aims to bring relief to people's wallets amid the increased cost of living.
“We're looking at what fees are unnecessarily hurting and impacting disproportionately low-income families, people who are struggling,” said Gonzalez.
- Read the bill's fiscal note below
Sixty percent of the bag fees go back to the local government, while the remaining 40 percent stays with the retailer. According to the bill, in a sample of 10 Colorado cities, annual revenue ranged from about $900 in Mead to about $1.2 million in Colorado Springs, with per capita revenues ranging from roughly $0.14 in Mead to $8.24 in Granby.
Local governments have used the revenue for things like administrative costs and outreach.
“Since the city started collecting disposable bag fees, those dollars have, in turn, been put right back into the community,” said Emily Gedeon, a spokesperson for Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency. “Reducing some of the plastic waste that's in our waste stream, those have been some of the investments of the bag fee here in Denver.”
The City and County of Denver, for instance, has had disposable bag fees in place since 2021. In that time, more than $6 million has been collected in fees. However, Gedeon said yearly revenue has decreased as more and more people remember their reusable bags.
Denver Disposable Bag Fee Annual Data
| Year | Total Bags Reported | Total Fees Collected |
| *2021 | 20,511,751 | $ 1,245,380.55 |
| 2022 | 37,375,886 | $ 2,303,689.77 |
| 2023 | 31,961,153 | $ 1,932,631.97 |
| 2024 | 19,644,367 | $ 969,191.85 |
*data from 2021 only includes bags & fees collected between July and December of that year.
HB 25-1051 would impact jurisdictions differently, depending on whether a municipality or county already has a local bag fee ordinance in place.
“I think this is just kind of our way to start the conversation about what we can do to actually deliver relief because a top issue for Coloradans is affordability, and this is something that goes along with it, as far as policy that I feel is sensible,” said Gonzalez.
The bill is currently under consideration in the House Energy & Environment Committee. If passed through the legislature, it would take effect 90 days after the 2025 legislative session concludes.
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