Denver may soon be able to use revenue from its 10-cent disposable bag fee to help implement other waste initiatives after City Council members backed off earlier concerns about the proposal. Under the ordinance, which passed the council on first reading Monday, those dollars could be used to help t he city implement the voter-approved “Waste No More” ordinance, which requires apartment buildings and restaurants to offer composting and recycling services. Jonathan Wachtel, the deputy executive director for the city’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience, said during a committee meeting earlier this month that the change would provide significant help in getting that program up and running by next September. That is when many of its requirements will take effect. “There are a lot of recommendations of things the city could do to support businesses and multifamily buildings,” he said. “This would enable us to use some of these funds to actually help implement that program.” During that Dec. 3 committee meeting, council members signaled potential changes for the proposal, with some arguing that as written, it would allow for too broad of spending. It was another example of recent council pushback against Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration. City officials then tweaked the proposed ordinance before it appeared on the full council’s agenda Monday. The proposal now identifies specific potential uses of the dollars. One new use would allow, in part, the spending of fee revenue on “education, coordination, resources and compliance-related support for citywide universal recycling and composting requirements,” according to the ordinance. That’s how the city describes the “Waste No More” initiative. The council approved the disposable bag fee in 2019 as a way to reduce the prevalence of single-use plastics in Denver. The ordinance, which took effect in 2021, allows the revenue generated from the fee to be used for administering the program, including educating the public and giving away reusable bags. The money could also be used to cut down on other single-use plastics. Related Articles Denver council rejects city contract with Key Lime Air over role in ICE detainee flights Downtown Denver’s big pot of money starts to work with $166M in projects Here’s how Denver police fly drones to 911 calls, triggering fears about privacy and surveillance Denver Summit women’s soccer stadium plan advances after delays Denver OKs $30M contract with nonprofit despite questions about agency So far, the fee has brought in more than $7 million to city coffers. The state legislature later passed a law that prohibited most stores from giving out plastic bags in Colorado, starting in 2024. Paper bags can now be provided to customers for the 10-cent fee if they don’t bring their own bags. The proposed ordinance changes would also allow for the transfer of $4.7 million in fee revenue already budgeted by the council to the city’s compost services. The council is set to take a final vote on the changes this coming Monday. Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot. ...read more read less