Legislature approves Colorado packaging producers’ expensive plan to fund recycling expansion

Colorado’s largest producer of consumer packaging will set its own fees and plans to launch a statewide curbside recycling expansion in 2026 after the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee approved a recommendation from the state health department.

JBC gave the necessary approval to the so-called mid-range price and expansion chosen by state health officials after reviewing an in-depth rollout study commissioned by the packaging manufacturer. The medium-cost option will require about $310 million and will be funded by fees that Producer Responsibility Organizations established under the 2022 legislation will charge their members.

The nonprofit producer group, which already operates in other states as the Circular Action Alliance, is made up of consumer giants such as Coca-Cola, Molson Coors, Bauer and Anheuser-Busch. Packaging producers with revenue below $5 million will be exempt from fees and programs.

Recycling advocates say the JBC’s final step puts Colorado at the forefront of national recycling expansion and could help create a new economy of local packaging producers using locally recycled materials.

Suzanne Jones of Eco-Cycle, a nonprofit recycling organization, said Colorado is only the second state to make such progress in implementing such a producer-funded recycling expansion. Jones said the state is pioneering in creating a system that works for Colorado and could become a national model.

Supporters hope the packer-funded program will promote easy consumer recycling into Colorado’s small towns and rural areas that currently lack curbside programs and create a common list of recyclable items across the state.

Some trade groups and small business advocates lambasted the JBC for approving the state proposal without demanding more answers to lingering questions about rising costs and how effective the program would actually be at increasing waste diversion rates.

Those critics point to a revision of the study earlier this year that saw the cost of the middle of the three alternatives in the required study soar by nearly 20% in just over a month, estimating that the plan would cost more per year through 2035. It will cost $310 million in commercial expenses.

The Colorado Consumers League criticized JBC’s seal of approval this week authorizing the continuation of a meaningless Extended Producer Responsibility program. Executive Director Jaime Gardner said in a statement that the program will cost more than $260 million annually, costs that will inevitably be passed on to Colorado consumers at a time when inflation has made running a grocery store a miserable experience for most families.

Consumers Union says the recycling expansion program, which already exempts businesses of so many packaging materials and sizes, won’t significantly improve Colorado’s low waste diversion rates from landfills. A recent op-ed by Recycling Advocates in the Legislature stated that Colorado diverts only 11 to 16 percent of its solid waste from landfills, while some states manage to recycle twice that amount.

“We are disappointed that the Joint Budget Committee did not consider the high cost of such a meager return to be an impediment to moving forward,” Gardner said.

However, the Colorado Department of Ecology, Recycling and Environment says expanded recycling opportunities will result in 410,000 tons of reusable materials by 2035 and create 7,900 new recycling-related jobs. Jones said results from other countries with similar packaging fees showed the cost per package was only a fraction of a cent, with no impact on consumers.

The Producers Council said the JBC’s approval kicks off the organization’s plan to develop a fee schedule and how to distribute expansion funds to recyclers and communities, with final details set to be submitted to the state health department on Feb. 1.

“We are ready to develop a proposal for a program that will provide all Coloradans with easy and equitable recycling opportunities and give companies responsible for covered materials the support they need to meet their legal obligations,” said Neil Meneses, president of the Colorado Recycling Action Alliance. .