Colorado limits plastic bags, Boulder expands fees – but do bans and fines actually reduce waste?
- Written by Eleanor Putnam-Farr, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University
Colorado banned plastic bags from large retail stores at the beginning of 2024. A new state ordinance also prohibits restaurants and retail food establishments from using Styrofoam takeout containers.
In Boulder, food shoppers have been paying 10 cents for every bag they need at checkout since 2013, with only paper and heavy-duty plastic bags...

