On June 3, 2022, Governor Jared Polis signed two bills into law concerning food packaging within the state of Colorado.
House Bill 22-1345 bans PFAS in eight product categories including food packaging by January 1, 2024. The bill also obligates the state to purchase only PFAS-free products. Colorado is the ninth US state to ban PFAS in food packaging (FPF reported).
House Bill 22-1355 establishes an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging and some printed paper products. All companies that sell such materials must design an individual plan or join a producer responsibility organization to support, fund, and manage a statewide recycling system.
According to the bill, by June 2023 the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment must designate a nonprofit organization to create and manage a statewide recycling program. The nonprofit would then hire a third party to run a needs assessment on recycling services within Colorado. An advisory board would use the results of the needs assessment to propose a residential recycling system, provide a list of covered materials, and establish a funding mechanism with the packaging manufacturers. Colorado is the third US state to create an EPR scheme for packaging after Oregon and Maine (FPF reported).
Read more
State of Colorado (June 3, 2022). “HB22-1345: Perfluoroalkyl And Polyfluoroalkyl Chemicals.”
State of Colorado (June 3, 2022). “HB22-1355: Producer Responsibility Program For Recycling.”
Marissa Heffernan and Jared Paben (June 7, 2022). “EPR bill in Colorado signed while New York bills fail.” Resource Recycling
Marissa Heffernan (May 20, 2022). “Industry reacts to passage of Colorado EPR bill.” Resource Recycling
Safer States (June 3, 2022). “Colorado governor signs first-in-nation ban on PFAS “forever chemicals” in oil and gas products.”
