After a pandemic-related pause, Denver’s “Bring your own Bag” ordinance is finally going into effect next month, requiring stores to charge customers 10 cents  for each single-use plastic or paper bag they use to carry their purchases.

This ordinance, passed by the City Council in December 2019, was meant to go into effect in July 2020; however, due to government backlog during the COVID-19 pandemic, the start date was pushed to July 1 of this year.

“The intent of it was to reduce the number of single-use bags used,” Councilwoman Kendra Black said. “This kind of program has been used successfully around the world and does successfully reduce single-use bags.”

The fee does not apply to restaurants, customers using food assistance programs, bags that customers bring from home (even if the bags are single-use plastic or paper) and bags used within stores for produce, baked goods or pharmaceuticals.

Of the 10-cent fee per bag, 4 cents goes to the retailers and 6 cents goes to the city.

“Using a conservative estimate of a 50% reduction of bags, in a full year, the fee would generate around $2.5 million for retailers and close to $4 million for the city,” said Grace Rink, executive director of the Denver Office of Climate Action.

Retailers may use the income generated by the fees to pay for customer education, signage, staff training, administrative infrastructure, providing free reusable bags to customers or infrastructure for recycling plastic bags, Rink said.

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The city may use the fees to pay for the program’s administration, community education and outreach, providing free reusable bags to residents, infrastructure and events to reduce litter, efforts to reduce single-use product waste or to measure the impact of the program, she said.

To prepare for the bag fee, the city will give away over 40,000 free reusable bags to residents throughout the summer. Scheduled distributions include noon on June 12 at the Whittier Café, 1710 E. 25th Ave.; 1 p.m., June 15, at the Presentation of our Lady Church, 665 Irving St.;and 3:30 p.m., June 20, at La Raza Park, 1501 W. 38th Ave.

The city will also host virtual training sessions for retailers on Wednesday and Thursday. More information and other giveaway locations are available at denvergov.org.

The implementation of Denver’s bag fee ordinance comes as the state passed House Bill 1162 Tuesday – a measure that, when signed by Gov. Jared Polis, will establish at least a 10-cent fee for single-use plastic and paper bags in Colorado.

The state policy will not go into effect until 18 months after Denver’s bag fee begins, in Jan. 1, 2023. 

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“Thank you, Director Rink, Chairperson Black and all of council for being more proactive and quicker than the state regulation,” said Councilman Chris Hinds. “And thank you to the people of Denver for helping us protect our planet.”

During this year-and-a-half gap, Denver’s bag fee ordinance will take precedence, Rink said. Once the state’s policy goes into effect, Denver will adjust its program accordingly to align with any state requirements.

Already on Tuesday, the City Council finance committee approved a proposal to change the city’s bag fee program to remit fees on a quarterly basis – rather than monthly like originally planned – in order to align with the future state policy.

The committee also voted to move Denver’s bag fee program from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure to the Denver Office of Climate Action, which was not yet formed when the ordinance was written in 2019.

These changes will need to be approved by the full City Council in the coming weeks before going into effect.