Colorado Walmarts, including both in Longmont, will no longer provide single-use plastic or paper bags beginning Jan. 1.
Lauren Willis, Walmart’s global communications director for the western U.S., said Walmarts in Colorado will not provide bags at checkout or pickup beginning in the new year, and delivery will shift to paper bags.
“We are working hard to ensure a seamless and convenient shift to reusable bags for our customers and associates,” she said in an emailed statement. “Eliminating single-use bags is part of our commitment to achieve zero waste across our operations and ultimately shift gradually toward a circular economy built on advancing reuse, refill and recycling habits.”
While Willis did not point to new legal requirements, the change coincides with a Colorado state law requiring certain retailers to charge a bag fee of 10 cents or more per bag to customers starting Jan. 1. Through 2023, the bag furnished to the customer can be a recycled paper carryout bag or single-used plastic bag.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, the store may only furnish a recycled paper carryout bag for a fee. Certain retail food establishments and small stores operating solely in Colorado with three or fewer locations may still provide single-use plastic carryout bags.
Stores will remit 60% of carryout bag fee revenues to the municipality or county within which the store is located beginning April 1, 2024. The fee won’t apply to customers in food assistance programs.
While Longmont does not currently implement a disposable bag fee, Boulder implemented a 10 cent fee at grocery stores nearly a decade ago. According to the city’s website, Boulder saw a 70% decrease in plastic bag use immediately following implementation, and the fee had collected approximately $1 million within five years.
