There is a popular and growing movement to ban single-use plastic bags at retail and grocery stores across the United States and globally. Currently, there are thousands of known countries, states, cities, counties, and towns to have, in some way, banned bag use.  While very effective, banning isn't always the accepted or legal solution.

An outdated 1993 state law which disallows Colorado municipalities from banning plastics has discouraged some cities from the single-use plastic bag ban trend. But yet at least NINE municipalities in Colorado have a ban on, require retail and grocery stores to charge a fee or have provided financial and environmentally proper alternatives for these plastic bags.  So why isn't Fort Collins joining this movement to correct the issue outside of just offering a "pilot" recycling program?

1. "Reuse This Bag" estimates that a plastic bag has a 12-minute lifespan from when it's initially filled with groceries at the grocery store to when it is discarded. 
2. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture.
3. It takes 500 (or more) years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately the bags don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.
4. The average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year.  2 Million are used/consumed/taken from stores every minute.
5. According to Waste Management, only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling. That means that the average family only recycles 15 bags a year; the rest ends up in landfills as litter.
6. According to the Coloradoan, in 2014, city staff estimated 52 million disposable bags were used each year in Fort Collins, with 60 percent of plastic bags distributed by grocery stores. Our population and our trash disposal has grown tremendously since then.

If the city council won't move forward with banning single-use plastic bags then we the PEOPLE can work with the local businesses and pressure them to see the dark environmental impact all retail and grocery businesses have by offering these specific types of bags.  Lets help them make the right choice and VOLUNTARILY refuse to offer single-use plastic bags. 

We understand this won’t be convenient for all of us, but it is time to act. For those of us who shop at Costco or IKEA (not in Fort Collins city limits) or even Trader Joes, we know we can survive without plastic bags.    

We all know retail and grocery businesses live and die with their financial bottom line, but what many may not realize is that there is a tremendous upside for all of the businesses to voluntarily stop providing single-use plastic bags.  

1. Businesses would save money by not having to purchase the plastic bags in the first place
2. Businesses would save money by not needing to pay to collect and recycle these bags
3. Businesses would receive free advertising/marketing/promotion with branded reusable tote bags as residents would use them throughout the city
4. Businesses could make a positive impact on the community by giving them away or selling reusable tote bags at cost.  

Dozens and dozens of companies in Fort Collins are already refusing to use single-use plastic bags.  They have LOTS of alternatives. vTherefore, we the people of Fort Collins demand our local businesses make a statement as the FIRST CITY in the beautiful state of Colorado to put the environment and future generations first and voluntarily REFUSE TO USE single-use plastic bags city wide!

Please also follow us on our Facebook page.  We are encouraging everyone to post pictures of plastic bags caught in our trees, on our sidewalks, in our parks, etc throughout Fort Collins.  It's amazing how many you will find when you start looking around.