Bagging your groceries just got more expensive. And in a year, it’ll be less convenient. It’s all mandated by a new law that kicked in Jan. 1.

Think of it as the legislature’s way of saying, “Happy New Year!”

As reported by The Gazette in a heads-up to readers last week, legislation that was enacted at the Capitol in 2021 and took effect Sunday socks consumers with a 10-cent fee for every single-use plastic or paper bag they carry out of grocery stores and most other retailers. Not only supermarkets but also convenience stores, liquor stores, restaurants, dry cleaners, drug stores, clothing shops – the list goes on – will have to charge the fee.

And it’s only the first step under the new policy. The law imposes an outright ban – statewide, few exceptions – on single-use plastic bags and polystyrene food containers on Jan. 1, 2024. No more plastic bags for cleaning up after your retriever’s early morning walk through the park. No more foam carry-out containers for your chicken sandwich or street tacos.

Why the change? Various reasons are given: the bags and containers are a source of litter; they compete for space in landfills; they aren’t entirely biodegradable. Yet, you get the feeling no one in the General Assembly is actually sure.

After all, the same environmental concerns could be raised about the reams of documents generated annually by government (yes, even in the Digital Age). And unlike plastic bags or polystyrene containers, a lot of the bureaucracy’s paperwork serves no discernible purpose. It’s not clear if anyone reads much of it at all.

But lawmakers probably would rather you don’t overthink it. Banning plastic bags just feels good, OK? It’s the responsible thing to do. Does anybody really want more garbage to go to a landfill – even if that is the place where garbage is supposed go? It’s just so, well, you know, wasteful.

The many affected retailers have no choice in the matter, of course. They aired their concerns when they could, during the 2021 legislature. But their protests fell on the deaf ears of ruling Democrats, who passed the law anyway.

So, the stores must comply, and they’ve thrown in the towel. As noted in The Gazette report, Walmart has decided to eliminate its plastic bags immediately rather than wait for the ban in a year. Other chains will charge for their bags until they run out of them.

Don’t bother talking about convenience; you’ll be called shortsighted or even selfish. Never mind that plastic bags have a thousand and one uses around the house after they haul your milk, eggs and potatoes home from the market. Or that polystyrene is so widely used for takeout meals precisely because it’s so effective in keeping food warm – and then crushes down to almost nothing when you dispose of it. But forget about all of that.

Common sense has nothing to do with the new policy; it’s about legislating virtue. Which is a lot easier for lawmakers than tackling the real challenges facing our state.

Colorado Springs Gazette Editorial Board