Fort Collins council backs grocery bag fee

• If approved on second reading in two weeks%2C the measure will go into effect in January.

Using paper or plastic bags could end up costing Fort Collins shoppers at the grocery store check-out counter.

The City Council on Tuesday gave initial approval to an ordinance requiring grocers to charge customers 10 cents for each disposable bag supplied by the store.

Grocers would keep all revenue generated by the fee under the ordinance, but would be required to spend at least 50 percent of it to buy reusable bags to distribute to customers.

The proposal passed 5-2, with Mayor Karen Weitkunat and Councilman Wade Troxell opposed.

The measure passed over the objections of some residents and industry groups.

Share your thoughts on plastic bags and fees in our comment section or send letters and Soapboxes to Opinion@Coloradoan.com.

Longtime resident Jeff Bailey said the proposal is a bad idea, describing it as "fascist" and a government overreach. He challenged the city's stated goal to "create a culture" of re-use in the community.

"Since when is it the government's job to create a culture of anything?" he said. "The government's job is to create infrastructure, provide the rule of law; not to tell us what we should or shouldn't use."

Supporters of the measure said disposable bags cause pollution in the community and their numbers should be reduced. An estimated 60 percent of bags used in Fort Collins come from grocery stores, according to a city report.

Councilman Gino Campana said the proposal fits with the city's goal to reach "zero waste." But reducing waste is going to require making some hard choices, he said.

"If we really were authentic about reaching that goal, we are going to have to make those difficult decisions," he said.

Society has a responsibility to take care of the environment with the next generation in mind, Campana said.

"What we are doing now is not sustainable," he said.

Soapbox: Plastic bag ordinance wrapped in politics

Soapbox: Darn those plastic bags

Waste reduction

The goal of the ordinance is to encourage shoppers to bring their own bags to stores and to reduce the number of single-use in the community, said Susie Gordon, senior environmental planner with the city.

It likely would result in a reduction in the number of disposable bags going into local landfills and litter.

Similar rules in other cities have led to dramatic decreases in plastic bag use. Boulder has seen a 68 percent drop in disposable bag use since implementing a 10-cent fee in July 2013, Gordon said.

Breckenridge, which has a 10-cent fee on bags from all retail stores, has seen a 40 to 50 percent reduction in disposable bags since 2012.

Critics of the proposal told council members bags already are reused as trashcan liners and for disposing of animal waste. Opponents also said the fee would drive up the cost of groceries for those who could least afford it.

The fee would not apply to residents who receive food stamps.

Different views

The fee is opposed by the industry group American Progressive Bag Alliance, said Mark Daniels, chairman of the association and senior vice president of sustainability and environmental policy for Hilex Poly. The company is a major manufacturer and recycler of plastic bags.

The council should not be telling grocers how to conduct their business, he said in telephone interview prior to the council's meeting. And it shouldn't be "picking winners and losers" by promoting reuseable bags.

"This is a grocery bag tax," Daniels said. "And we think it is another example of misguided policy."

Plastic bags and their impact on the environment are misunderstood, he said. Bags make up less than 1 percent of litter across the country and have a re-use rate of about 70 percent.

Bags make up about 0.2 percent of the material from Fort Collins going into landfills, according to a city report.

The ordinance would not have "any tangible impact on the environment," Daniels said, but would drive up expenses.

"It's going to cost a lot of money for Fort Collins residents," he said.

About 5 percent of the country is under some type of bag-restriction ordinance, he said. Bag manufacturers are reluctant to invest in new facilities, including for recycling, because of the trend. Hilex Poly recycles 40 million pounds of the 1 billion pounds of plastic that is recycled a year, he said.

The fee would generate an estimated $1.6 million in revenue for grocers in its first year, according to city estimates. The revenue is expected to drop by half in the fee's second year and by half again in its third year.

A bag fee would not likely make much difference at Whole Foods, 2201 S. College Ave., said Sari Schauer, Whole Foods marketing team leader.

The store has not offered plastic bags since 2008. It gives a 10-cent credit for reusable bags brought in by shoppers.

"We have a pretty high rate of people who are already reusing bags," she said.

It also donates the amount of credits to local nonprofits and schools. If the fee is imposed, the store would continue the practice, Schauer said.

In June, the store issued 90,000 credits while distributing an estimated 12,000 paper bags.

Whole Foods supports the fee because it fits in with its culture and commitment to sustainability, she said. The store recycles plastic bags even though it does not distribute them.

"The whole point of it is to make you think about the financial disincentive so you bring your own bag," she said. "We always try to go with the financial incentive, whether it's a credit on your bill or donating money to the community."

Other grocers contacted by the Coloradoan did not return phone calls or emails seeking comment.

If approved on second reading in two weeks, the fee would go into effect in January. Leading up to the implementation would be an education program that would include a contest to design a bag that the city would distribute.

In other action

The Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday:

• Approved on first reading an ordinance expanding the city's smoking rules to prohibit the use of e-cigarettes in areas where conventional smoking is prohibited. The ordinance also requires that all hotel and motel rooms in the city to be smoke free.

• Approved on first reading an amendment to a section of city code raising the maximum penalty for a traffic offense from $1,000 to $2,650.

How they voted

Mayor Karen Weitkunat - no

Gerry Horak - yes

Wade Troxell - no

Bob Overbeck - yes

Lisa Poppaw - yes

Ross Cunniff - yes

Gino Campana - yes

By the numbers

Disposable bags in Fort Collins:

• 52 million – estimate of bags used each year

• 60 percent – estimated to be grocery bags

• 220 tons – bags that go in the landfill each year

• 0.2 percent – amount making up the municipal waste stream

• 10 cents per bag – fee that would charged by grocers

• $1.6 million – revenue to grocers in the first year of implementation

• $800,000 – revenue to grocers in the second year

• 50 percent – amount grocers would have to spend on durable bags to give to customers

Source: City of Fort Collins