Sponsors of a bill mandating businesses to participate in a state recycling program are nearing a deal to exempt “legitimate” news organizations.

Rep. Lisa Cutter, D-Littleton, told Colorado Politics that an amendment in the works to House Bill 1355, which was introduced late last week, will exempt most newspapers.

The latter had raised concerns the bill would devastate local publications.

Under HB 1355, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment would select a nonprofit entity that will implement a recycling program by March 2023. The bill envisions the program to be funded by annual “producer responsibility dues” – to be paid by producers that use packaging materials, paper products, and single-use food serviceware.

The nonprofit entity, which would be industry-run and known as a “producer responsibility organization,” would set the rates, including a minimum recycling rate, that would begin in 2028.

The bill intends to address an abysmal recycling rate in Colorado, which at 15% is half the national average, according to supporters. Cutter, who discussed the bill on April 1 in a news conference along with co-sponsor Sen. Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, said part of the problem is lack of access to recycling services almost anywhere in the state, including rural Colorado.

The PRO will use the funds from the “dues” to pay private companies and local governments to operate recycling programs throughout the state, she said. Covered entities would include residences, businesses, schools, government buildings and public places, according to the bill.

Priola added that the lack of convenient and equal access to recycling is a challenge for many residents and communities.

“It’s too expensive to add recycling services,” he said, citing the cost to transport those materials. The state needs both a reliable way to transport recycled material and an end market for new products made from those recycled materials, he said.

Priola added that producer responsibility approach is a “transformative way to pay for and provide convenient and effective recycling for residents, without burdening state or local governments.” He said many local governments use taxpayer money for recycling, or people are charged for recycling services. The program envisioned under HB 1355 could make recycling free in many communities, although producers will ultimately pick up the tab.

“It’s time the industries step up and be responsible and take on the cost of the products that they produce to get the material back into the supply stream,” he said.

Recycling will be as easy as trash pickup, said former state senator and Jefferson County Commissioner Andy Kerr. He said his constituents want access to recycling services, but providing those options can be difficult, both for residents and for local governments.

Backers said that, in rural communities, for example, people often drop off their trash at transfer stations, landfills, or community centers, and that’s where they’ll drop off recycling materials, too.

Obi Ezeadi, a member of Westminster City Council, said access to recycling varies by community, neighborhood and the type of home. He said multi-family apartments and condos often don’t have access or limited access to recycling. In Westminster, for example, recycling drop off locations are underfunded, and over utilized, and, as a result, only about 11% of the waste is kept out of landfills, he said.

“We have a lot of work to do,” Ezeadi said. “We need a more convenient and less expensive solution for our city and our residents.”

Direct Polymers’ Adam Hill said his company processes industrial and consumer-grade plastic materials that is then sold back to manufacturers, both in Colorado and nationwide. The company processed 60 million pounds of plastics in 2021, Hill said. HB 1355 will jump start the state’s low recycling rate, as well as help build a stronger economy with more dependable and reliant materials for manufacturers, Hill said

But the bill, which has been in the works for months, has its detractors, including wine and beer retailers and the cannabis industry. Also opposed are Albertsons Companies, which operates Safeway, the Colorado Chamber of Commerce, and the Colorado Press Association. The latter has raised concerns about the bill’s effect on small newspapers across the state, given that it requires newspapers to pay dues for newsprint, which they claim is a product, not packaging. 

The bill exempts small businesses with under $5 million in gross revenues, said Cutter, who added that would exempt small newspapers. As for larger ones, Cutter told Colorado Politics the exemption she is working on would apply to the same media outlets as defined in House Bill 1121, a measure that seeks to incentivize more advertising for Colorado local media.

That bill, which is awaiting action in House Appropriations, was amended to define local newspapers as those that primarily serve the needs of the state of Colorado or a regional or local community in-state; where the content is from primary sources related to news and current events; which employ at least one journalist who lives in Colorado and who regularly writes news or information on local events or other matters of local public interest; and, which disclose ownership to the public and carry media liability insurance. 

The complication with the cannabis industry is that packaging cannot be recycled due to residue in containers. Supporters said because cannabis packaging is regulated at the federal level, the bill does not include those materials or other materials that are governed by federal requirements, such as prescription drugs or medical equipment. 

House Bill 1355 is scheduled for its first hearing in the House Energy and Environment Committee on Thursday.