Colorado Policy Information

Plastic Pollution Reduction Act
(HB21-1162) creates a fee on single-use checkout bags, bans single-use plastic bags and styrofoam food containers, and lifts the local preemption on plastic bans allowing local jurisdictions to pass ordinances reducing single-use plastics. Find information about how to prepare for implementation of the law, best practices from Colorado municipalities that already have bag fees, and download free toolkits—complete with sample letters, newsletter copy, communications templates, social media posts, etc.— for community and business outreach at https://ecocycle.org/ppra.

Producer Responsibility for Recycling Packaging and Paper
(HB22-1355) will provide free, convenient recycling access to all Coloradans with no added cost to consumers or local governments. Visit www.RecyclingForAllColoradans.org to find new resources specifically designed to help local governments understand how the law benefits them and their residents and how to prepare for free recycling. Recycle Colorado will be working with Eco-Cycle and the Colorado Municipal League to provide webinars on HB22-1355 in 2023. Please email [email protected] if you would like to be alerted to the date(s) of those trainings.

The FAQ Producer Responsibility Page is now available and can be found on CDPHE's Website linked below. Scroll down to find "Frequently asked questions and answers- Producer Responsibility Program" under the documents list. You can find the initial implementation timeline and additional information on CDPHE's website.

For updates from CDPHE on the implementation phase of the producer responsibility program, please sign up by sending an email to [email protected] with the subject line "producer responsibility contact list."

Circular Economy Development Center
(HB22-1159) will provide support and technical assistance to businesses using recycled materials in manufacturing (including organic materials to create beneficial end products like compost). The state is still accepting applications for an entity to run this center, details on the center are still under development.

Grants and Rebates

The Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity (RREO) program, established by the Colorado state legislature in 2007, provides funding that promotes economic development through the management of materials that would otherwise be landfilled. Funds are available to support recycling, composting, anaerobic digestion, source reduction, and beneficial use/reuse.

The Front Range Waste Diversion (FRWD) program and enterprise fund was approved by the Colorado state legislature in 2019, and collects funds from an increase in user fees at Front Range landfill to provide grants and technical assistance to Front Range communities to increase recycling, composting, and waste reduction.