Get your reusable bags ready! By now, Coloradans know the challenges of bringing reusable bags every time they shop anywhere. They’re easy to forget. (Who hasn’t at some point?) And, when you do, you either begrudgingly pay the 10¢ fee per bag or attempt to carry all of your items without dropping anything. Well, 2024 is definitely the year to make bringing your reusable bags a top priority.
Review the plastic bag fee that took effect on January 1, 2023.
Starting January 1, 2024, House Bill 21-1162 goes into effect in Colorado. What does that mean for shoppers? The act prohibits stores and retail food establishments from providing single-use plastic carryout bags to customers. That means that no plastic bags will be available at all, even for purchase at 10¢.
A store may furnish only a recycled paper carryout bag at a fee of 10¢ per bag or a higher fee imposed by the municipality or county in which the store is located.
Are there any exceptions? Certain retail food establishments and small stores that operate solely in Colorado and have three or fewer locations may still provide single-use plastic carryout bags.
If you forget your reusable bags, there will be no option to purchase any single-use plastic bags. There are only two options in 2024: Buy a recycled paper bag at 10¢ or carry all of your purchases out the door.
Note: Retailers are not required to provide recycled paper bags, so, in many cases, you’re only option would be to purchase a reusable bag at checkout for a buck or two (if the retailer sells them).
Now’s the time to get your stock of reusable bags ready for 2024. Find deals on reusable bags here.
Do you have secret or trick that works for you in never forgetting your reusable bags? Comment below on how you remember to always bring your reusable bags.
Hildegarde says
I just leave them in my car. This way I don’t forget them.
ARLYS says
I keep a bucket in the car.. It is much easier to carry items from the store to my car. I also keep a bsg in the front seat of the car for smaller items.
I also want to say, I will BET theft is up in 2023. When there was bag use most the time you knew the item was paid for. Now people just walk out with an item even though it is not in a bag. Who is to know if it was paid for.≥ And will NEVER get rid of plastic bags.
Lori Ostroski says
I review my list in my car before I go into the store and guesstmate how much of the list will fit into each bag, then take in one extra, just in case.
Stacy Martens says
We have lots of reusable bags. After putting groceries away, we leave them by the fron tdoor and carry them out to the car for the next car trip. We also have a collapsible cube that holds mittens and stuff in the trunk that could be used for groceries. BTW, I’m not sure that theft will go up. People already steal things in self-checkout. Even before plastic bags were on their way out, I would refuse a bag and carry small purchases out with my receipt visible. Maybe grocery stores will start checking receipts, Costco style. Maybe self-checkout will go away. Who knows?
Richard says
If I order food at a drive-through window from a company with more than three Colorado locations, will I be charged 10 cents per paper bag?
David says
It is truly absurd that for this meaningless virtue signaling we must deal with people bringing their dirty reusable bags back into stores over and over again. I don’t want the germs other people bring to the store, the plastic bags were sanitary even for a homeless person that hasn’t showered in three months.
L says
I always have re-usable bags in my car, but if I forgot to bring it into the store, then I will push the cart with my purchases to my car, then load them into my car
Maria F says
I usually grab empty banana boxes in the produce area if I forget my bags. They are some empty boxes or you can take bananas out of the box.
TooHip says
We all leave the bags in our car, but we still forget to take them in to the store. And we never know exactly how much we’ll buy. Or we may not be intending on buying something, then what? This is a dumb law, trying to curtail just one of thousands of littered items. Incentive, rather than punishment should of been used. Need a compact expandable bag to carry in one’s pocket of purse.
Sondra Coulter says
This is beyond ridiculous. The 2023 ban was ridiculous. Look at how many things are overly packaged at the store. Anyon near the Wyoming border will more likely shop and dine there. Colorado screws itself again. Who voted for this? I sure didn’t even have the opportunity.
Debbie says
I have a bunch of heavy duty reusable cotton bags that I keep in the car. They’re washable! Even the string bags are washable. I think the law is fine. People in plenty of other countries have always brought their own bags to shop with. We’re just spoiled and oblivious to the damage that plastic bags do to the environment.
Connie says
I have yet to read a single article that says how this will effect grocery delivery. Will it all arrive in paper bags?
Jennie says
I keep a plastic laundry basket in the back of my car. All my groceries go straight from my cart to basket then into my house. Even though I’ve got a method to work with this law I agree it’s ridiculous. As adults, these should be choices we get to make. I used my grocery bags to line trash cans and take care of dog messes. I still need something for those purposes but now I have to buy them
Teresa says
Using a box that has cutouts for handles and fits in grocery cart works great…if I remember to take it in with me. It can be reused many times.
Jerie Janosov says
This “law” presents a huge problem for myself and many others who do not have the strength to lift a reusable bag that can weigh upwards of 30 lbs when filled. After purchasing over $50.00 worth of heavy duty reusable bags ,I can only put 2 or 3 items in each bag due to the fact that I cannot lift it!!@ Being on a fixed income, I now have to pay for small plastic bags which forces me to try and live on an even smaller income each month. Whomever thought this up did not take all the different sceniorios into account and it sucks!!!
Andrea says
I always have a utility tote full of reusable shopping bags in my car at all times. Being a “bag lady” that sells reusable bags made of recycled plastic bottles certainly has it advantages ;)
Becky says
I’d rather use my own cotton bags w sturdy handles anyday as compared to the poorly constructed lightweight plastic bags we’d have to pay .10 for in 2023.
I agree, that we’ve been spoiled here. A majority of other countries require that you bring your own bags.
I unload our groceries and stick bags by the front door. I always try to have a few extra bags in the car, too, just in case.
I like the new law, and I swear it’s cut down on cheap plastic bags being tangled and blowing around in fields, parks, creeks, etc. But I do miss using the old bags for trash can liners and dog waste cleanup. (When you go to other states, pick up their old style plastic bags and cherish them for things like bathroom trash can liners!) My BF sure seems to have a hard time remembering his bags though. Poor guy. 😵💫
Nancy Ewing says
I keep my bags in the pocket of my driver’s side door, so I see them as I get out of the car! Somebody said eat and shop in Wyoming? Why? There’s little over the border to buy or eat. Let’s all just do our part.
nancy ewing says
Can’t lift the filled reusable bag? Then don’t fill it! Put just as many items in it as you can lift!
Mel says
I keep the big cotton tote bags in the car, along with produce bags, etc., but I have a few foldable nylon bags in my purse at all times. Though they often come with a little holder, I just roll them up really tight and secure with a hair tie or rubber band. They’re about the size of a lipstick case. I have a small purse, yet I can carry 3-4 bags in it! Also easy to keep one or two in a jacket pocket, for those who don’t carry a purse.
Jason Smith says
Anyone who is on SNAP or similar programs is exempt from the fees…Peeps I know that go to King Soopers on the regular got the paper bags all last year and did not once pay a dime 😉
Linda says
Will plastic bags still be available for loose produce, e.g., apples, tomatoes, celery, et al? Will potatoes still come in plastic bags? Will bread still come in plastic bags? Will deli lunch meat still be put into plastic bags for customers? Newspapers are still delivered to some homes. Will they still come in plastic bags? Will pre-packaged meat (beef, pork, et al) still be wrapped in plastic wrap and Styrofoam? Is this plastic bag ban just a start at this time? I do use my own reusable bags and am glad to do so, but I wonder about all of the rest above. Might something be coming down the pike at some time to address them?