Plastic Bag Fee Suspended In Denver For Another Year

DENVER (CBS4)- The plastic bag fee in Denver won't go into effect until next year. The ordinance was set to go into effect in July.

The Denver City Council voted in favor of the 10 cent fee last December. The ordinance is meant to encourage people to bring their own reusable bags and reduce the amount of plastic used in stores.

People in Denver use up to 250 million bags per year and only up to 5% are recycled. The rest end up in the waste system.

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Several cities in Colorado have similar ordinances, including Boulder and Breckenridge.

The fee was set to go into effect on July 1 at all of Denver's retail stores including grocers, hardware, convenience, drug and department stores. The fee will not apply to restaurants.