Kevin Duggan

kevinduggan@coloradoan.com

An estimated 50 million disposable bags are distributed in Fort Collins every year, officials say.

Merchants could keep the revenue from bag fees, but would be told how to spend part of it.

If approved by council, the program would likely be implemented next year.

Fort Collins grocery shoppers might end up paying to use paper or plastic disposable bags after all.

City officials have revived a proposal to impose a fee of 10 cents per bag with the goal of reducing litter in the community and the amount of plastic going into area landfills. Shoppers would be encouraged to use durable cloth or woven plastic bags.

A similar proposal was rejected by City Council last year on a 3-3 vote with Councilwoman Lisa Poppaw absent.

Poppaw said during a council work session Tuesday that if she had been present for the vote, the measure would have passed and “we wouldn’t have this conversation right now.”

“Absolutely I support a 10-cent per disposable bag charge,” she said.

The fee would apply only to grocery stores, which generate about 60 percent of the estimated 50 million disposable bags distributed in Fort Collins each year, said Susie Gordon, senior environmental planner with the city.

The council might consider the proposal in June. Details of the program will be worked out before it returns to council for action, said Lucinda Smith, director of environmental services for the city.

If approved, the bag fee would likely go into effect next year, Smith said.

Merchants would receive all revenue generated by the fee, although they might be required to spend a portion of the money on signage and other educational efforts aimed at store staff and customers.

Among the lessons to be taught if the fee is approved is that durable bags need to be regularly washed to prevent the spread of potentially harmful bacteria, Gordon said.

Stores also might be required to use fee money to provide free or reduced-price durable bags to customers. Revenue from the fee would likely decline over time as shoppers get accustomed to not using disposable bags, Gordon said.

Communities around the state and country with bag fees have seen sharp decreases in the use of disposable bags. In Boulder, bag use is down 68 percent since July.

A ban on plastic and paper disposable shopping bags in Austin, Texas, resulted in a 90 percent decrease in single-use bag waste, Gordon said.

The fee proposal was generally supported by the council, although member Wade Troxell argued the market is already addressing the issue with some stores not offering plastic bags and giving credit to shoppers who bring their own bags.

And plastic grocery bags aren’t necessarily single-use items, Troxell said, with residents using them to line garbage cans and to pick up after their pets.

Plastic bags would still be present in the community from stores other than grocers, Gordon said. In addition, the proposed fee would not apply to bags typically used for produce in stores or to wrap meat.

The proposal is in line with the city’s goal of reaching “zero” waste by 2030, said Councilmember Gino Campana. Reducing disposable bags is a way to pick “low-hanging fruit” toward that end, he said.

But rather than imposing the “heavy hand of government” through fees, perhaps the city should focus on creative approaches to changing the culture of using disposable bags, he said.

“Can we make it ‘cool’ to use a reusable bag and ‘uncool’ to be walking out of a store with a plastic bag?” he said.

A campaign to provide reusable bags to residences also might be effective, he said.

Councilmember Ross Cunniff said he would prefer to see an outright ban on disposable bags. Plastic bags have serious impacts on the landscape and the environment, he said.

But Cunniff said he would support a bag fee if it results in changing behaviors and the expectation among shoppers and businesses that disposable bag comes with every purchase.

By the numbers

For disposable bags in Fort Collins:

• 50 million: Estimated disposable bags used each year

• 60 percent: Amount coming from grocery stores

• 220 tons: Plastic bags sent to landfills each year (no data for paper bags)

• 0.2 percent: Amount plastic bags represent in the city’s overall waste stream

• 10 cents: Proposed fee on disposable bags

Source: City of Fort Collins

How they voted

The Fort Collins City Council in March 2013 rejected a proposed 10-cent fee on disposable grocery bags on a 3-3 vote. Councilwoman Lisa Poppaw, who supports such a fee, was absent. Here’s how council members voted:

• Mayor Karen Weitkunat: No

• Aislinn Kottwitz: No

• Wade Troxell: No

• Ben Manvel: Yes

• Gerry Horak: Yes

• Kelly Ohlson: Yes

• Lisa Poppaw: absent