Plastic and paper bag fees to be delayed until July 1, 2021, due to coronavirus.

In December 2019, The Denver City Council passed an order that would make most retailers charge its customers 10 cents per bag. The fees were scheduled to start in less than two months from now, on July 1. However, on Monday, the council members unanimously delayed the implementation of the fees until July 1, 2021.

The change in implementation comes mostly due to the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Jared Polis has asked cities and towns with bag fees to suspend them during the pandemic. City documents state the council is responding to that, as well as the potential of "challenging economic conditions and burdens on retailers and shoppers".

Another reason the postponement occurred is that stores are attempting to prioritize the safety of its employees during the pandemic. Reused bags are considered less sterile and some stores like Trader Joe's are no longer allowing its customers to use them. Other stores, like Target, are not selling reusable bags, and if customers bring their own, they would have to bag their own groceries.

The ordinance is meant to encourage people to bring their own reusable bags in an effort to reduce the amount of plastic used in stores, a strategy that has worked in other cities in Colorado and around the country.

People in Denver use up to 250 million bags per year and only up to five percent of the bags get recycled.

Denver is the 12th jurisdiction in the state of Colorado to regulate plastic and paper bags.