Plastic Pollution Reduction Act

The Colorado General Assembly passed HB 21-1162 establishing the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, a program intended to reduce the amount of single-use plastic products provided to consumers from stores and restaurants. The program implements various requirements throughout 2023 and 2024, as outlined below.

  • January 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023: Stores must charge each customer a 10 cent fee per bag (recycled paper or single-use plastic bags).
  • Beginning January 1, 2024: Stores and restaurants are prohibited from providing single-use plastic carryout bags or containers. They may, however, provide recycled paper bags for a 10 cent fee. Restaurants are also not able to provide Styrofoam food containers.
  • Beginning April 1, 2024: Stores and restaurants must remit 60% of the collected bag fees on a quarterly basis to the county or municipality within which the store is located. The store or restaurant keeps the remaining 40% of collected fees.

The program offers the following exemptions for businesses and customers:

  1. Any business (store or restaurant) with three or fewer locations all located within Colorado and not part of a franchise are not required to comply with the program.
  2. Customers who can prove that they participate in a federal or state food assistance program are not required to pay bag fees.
  3. Materials used in the packaging of pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices or dietary supplements are exempt from the requirements of the program.

Businesses in unincorporated Arapahoe County that do not meet the exemptions listed above must remit 60% of their bag fees to Arapahoe County on a quarterly basis beginning April 1, 2024.

Remitting Fees to Arapahoe County

To comply with the requirements of the program, please:

  1. Print and complete this form
  2. Write a check for 60% of the bag fees collected in the prior quarter.
    1. Make checks payable to Arapahoe County
    2. Include “Bag Fee” in the check memo
  3. Mail the check and completed form to:

P.O. Box 766
Attn: Bag Fee
5753 S Prince Street
Littleton, CO 80120

Contact Us

Should you have any questions, please contact the Arapahoe County Finance Department at 303-795-4620 or FinanceSalesTax@arapahoegov.com.