Colorado State Senator Kevin Priola and two Democrats are leading the “Producers Responsibility” bill in the legislature, which would require the companies whose brand is on the packaging to charge themselves a fee to fund improved local recycling services across Colorado. Cities or counties without their own recycling services could take the fees to start up a program. Places like Denver or Boulder who run or contract for extensive recycling could use the fees to expand — many apartment dwellers don’t get recycling services, for example. Or they could turn recycling programs over to nonprofits and private companies likely to enter the market.
Giving recycling access to all Colorado consumers and making the sort-and-return systems easier to use would cut deeply into trash across the state, Priola said. “If you can get 60, 70, 80% of the people to start doing the right thing, that’ll mean less resources being wasted. Less water being wasted. Less air pollution. A more vibrant local economy,” he said.
One reason a Republican like Priola got on board was the effort to be business-friendly: Recycling advocates say a steadier stream of packaging materials like aluminum, glass and cardboard will eventually ease the supply chain woes and inflation plaguing many American companies.