Plastic pollution solution poised to become law in Colorado

Colorado is about to become the third state to pass comprehensive legislation against plastic pollution.

The Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, a CoPIRG-backed bill, has only one hurdle left before becoming law. After it receives Gov. Jared Polis’ signature, Colorado will have enacted one of the most thorough plastic pollution reduction bills in the country. The bill would phase out single-use plastic bags, polystyrene cups and containers, and allow municipalities more freedom to go even further on single-use plastics if their residents so choose.

In a statement to reporters, CoPIRG Executive Director Danny Katz emphasized the importance of this legislation. “These plastics pollute our waterways and parks, harm our health and wildlife, and take centuries to break down. Nothing we use once to carry food or a beverage for a few minutes should pollute our state for hundreds of years.”

In Colorado, where people go through 4.6 million single-use plastic bags and 1.2 million single-use polystyrene cups a day, this legislation should make a real dent in the waste we generate.

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Watch the Youth Lobby Day we helped organize in March to connect young Coloradans with their elected officials on the issue of plastic pollution.