Business tax could be as much as $200,000 annually
By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics
As Colorado initiates the rollout of a statewide recycling program, business advocates are warning lawmakers that companies are facing hefty fees they may not be aware of and implementing the initiative may not be realistic heading into 2026, not to mention its price tag amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.
House Bill 22-1355, signed into law in June 2022, tasked the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment with selecting a nonprofit organization to oversee the recycling initiative, funded through annual dues from producers of packaging materials and paper products.
Producers are not required to pay those dues until 2026, and their advocates are uncertain about the program’s funding sources until that time.
The goal of the program is to increase the state’s recycling rate, which, at an estimated 22% to 28%, falls below the national average of 34%. Similar initiatives in various countries and states encompass a wide range of materials, spanning from electronic waste to mattresses.