On September 10, the Zero Waste and Recycling Interim Committee (ZWRISC) identified five bill concepts that will be expanded into draft bills. The drafts will be completed by October 2 so that a fiscal analysis can be completed prior to the next ZWRISC meeting. The Committee will meet October 22 to vote on which two bills will pass out of the committee as official ZWRISC bills. Draft bills that are not selected by the committee on October 22 can still be introduced in January by individual legislators.

The five bill concepts are:

• End Market Development – Rep. Cutter and Sen. Priola (Recycle Colorado bill concept)
• Organic Waste Management – Rep. Cutter (Recycle Colorado bill concept)
• Bottle Redemption Program – Sen. Moreno
• Update Environmental Purchasing Practices by state government – Rep. Froelich
• Recycling Education – Rep. Arndt

Recycle Colorado does not yet have an official position on the concepts that were not originated by Recycle Colorado. Recycle Colorado will hold a stakeholder meeting to discuss the bottle redemption program concept prior to October 2 when the bills need to be drafted.

Recycle Colorado will be working with our contract lobbyist to also provide more details on the End Market and Organic Waste bills before October 2.

Please keep an eye open for updates. A lot will be happening over the next month regarding statewide policy. Questions can be directed to Randy Moorman, Policy Committee Chair/Recycle Colorado Vice President, 303.444.6634 ext. 131 / [email protected].