Colorado Takes Action to Hold Plastic Producers Accountable
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By Sami Saverin
The Colorado Legislature recently moved to hold plastic producers responsible for recycling and other waste services. House Bill 22-1355 was introduced during the 2022 regular session for the Colorado General Assembly. The bill, publicly referred to as the “Producer Responsibility Bill,” would create a producer responsibility program in Colorado in an effort to implement better management practices for recycling programs. The bill orders the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) to designate a nonprofit organization to “implement and manage a statewide program that improves recycling services for covered entities in the state.” The entities covered by this bill are all encompassing, including residences, businesses, schools, government buildings, and public places.
The Producer Responsibility Program is unique because it is funded by annual dues paid by the producers of products containing “covered materials,” which is defined as “packaging materials and paper products that are sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state.” The bill orders the creation of a statewide Recycling Advisory Board, consisting of recycling experts with knowledge that will help the program suit Colorado’s diverse array of communities and their specific needs.
Starting in 2023, the bill will gradually phase in, starting with a third-party study assessing the current status of and need for recycling services in the state. The completed assessment will be submitted to the Recycling Advisory Board which will provide input and develop a plan for the Producers Responsibility Program, starting with residential covered entities and expanding to nonresidential covered entities sometime after 2028. The plan proposal must describe how the designated nonprofit will meet convenience standards and statewide recycling, collection, and postconsumer-recycled content rates, establish a funding process from the producer responsibility dues, establish a list of covered materials, and set minimum postconsumer-recycled-content rates that must be met by 2030. The bill requires the designated nonprofit to develop and implement a statewide education program, expand recycling services to provide free recycling services to covered entities for covered materials, and annually audit the program. Once the program is established, the bill plans to prohibit producers of any products that use covered materials in the state from the sale or distribution of these materials unless the producer is participating in the program in 2025, with a clause that allows for an extension until 2029.
The policy will expand and improve recycling access in the state by providing convenient recycling services at no cost to residents. The policy will also clarify the types of materials that can be recycled and support local businesses that incorporate recycled materials into their products.
The Producer Responsibility Program is a step in the right direction to hold producers of plastics accountable for plastic pollution and the proper disposal of waste. Shockingly, only 9% of plastics are recycled globally. In Colorado specifically, a study found the state only recycles 15% of overall waste. This places Colorado as one of the 20 worst recycling states in the nation, falling well below the national average of 32% of waste recycled. However there is hope that the state will improve its waste management practices with the Producer Responsibility Program being another chapter in Colorado’s recent effort to cull plastic pollution through legislation. In recent years the state has also passed policies to ban polystyrene packaging and single-use plastic bags by 2024. Local governments have also made an effort to address plastic pollution, through measures such as the City of Denver’s ordinance requiring restaurants and delivery services to only include single-use utensils by request.
So far, the Producer Responsibility bill has passed its first committee with a 7-5 vote, and will hopefully succeed in passing through the remaining legislative hoops to get to Governor Polis’s desk. Ultimately, while Colorado policy still has a long way to go, this legislative effort is a beacon of hope that the state is taking plastic pollution seriously.