Colorado is on the cusp of enacting widespread restrictions on plastic bags and polystyrene – moves that could have implications for the promotional products industry.

Lawmakers in Colorado’s state House have given final passage to a bill that bans single-use plastic bags and polystyrene products in many stores and restaurants. The bill just needs Gov. Jared Polis, who supports the legislation, to sign in order for it to become law.

If the legislation takes effect as expected, it can potentially create opportunities to sell more branded reusable alternatives like tote bags. That could benefit promotional products distributors. Still, things can be more complicated than that, as costs may go up for retailers, which could result in them having less money for marketing purposes.

Under the legislation, stores can use single-use plastic bags or a recycled paper bag for a 10-cent fee until Jan. 1, 2024. After that date, stores can only provide recycled paper bags. Meanwhile, the polystyrene ban takes effect on Jan. 1, 2024.

There are notable exceptions, though. Small stores, which Colorado’s bill defines as any business with three or fewer locations in the state that aren’t chains with locations outside the state, are exempt from the ban. They can continue to use plastic bags if they aren’t prohibited by their municipality.

Starting in 2023, Colorado will ban plastic bags and plastic foam containers. But there are a few exceptions.

Here are the rules https://t.co/40wHuKgI74 #copolitics pic.twitter.com/NshW4j4Neu

— CPR News (@CPRNews) June 9, 2021

Starting in 2023, Colorado municipalities will be empowered to craft their own legislation regulating plastic bags and polystyrene. Those regulations could potentially be stricter than the state’s rules. Retailers are opposed to this local control element, as they say it can create significant compliance headaches.

The impetus for the bans and restrictions is environmental. Ban proponents say plastic bags and polystyrene cause litter and pollution, fouling habitats, infesting waterways and presenting a danger to wildlife which can choke on or become caught in the disposables. Recent research shows that plastic pollution in the ocean is increasing.

The war on plastic has been raging for years now. Since 2016, 10 states – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington – have banned single-use plastic bags. Major cities with such bans include Boston, Chicago and Seattle. In 2019, state lawmakers introduced at least 95 bills related to plastic bags, either outright banning them or placing a fee on them.

In 1950, the world’s population of 2.5 billion produced 1.5 million tons of plastic, according to Surfers Against Sewage, a marine conservation charity based in the United Kingdom. In 2016, a global population of more than 7 billion people produced more than 320 million tons of plastic. The 2016 tally is set to double by 2034. Every day, approximately 8 million pieces of plastic pollution find their way into oceans, according to Surfers Against Sewage.

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