MAY 28, 2019 BY
Since 2017, Steamboat Springs Teen Council has been working diligently to research and propose banning plastic bags in large grocery stores in Steamboat Springs. This conversation first started in August 2011, when Yampa Valley Sustainability Council and a group of passionate community members provided information to City Council on the possibility of a plastic bag ban.
After years of preparation, research and watching other Colorado communities move forward in banning bags, we want to thank all those involved in successfully passing an ordinance to ban plastic bags and put a 20-cent fee on paper bags.
As stated in several recent letters to the editor, banning plastic bags is not the answer to our nation’s waste or plastic epidemic. But, it is a step in the right direction to reduce our community’s plastic use and litter. It will also shrink our collective carbon footprint. We hope the ordinance can be the beginning of a discussion to shift from a culture of take, make, waste to one where reuse becomes the norm.
We would like to thank Teen Council, Catherine Carson, city of Steamboat Springs staff and City Council for moving local waste reduction and diversion to the next level. Your leadership is admired and inspiring as we strive to protect our environment for future generations.
Yampa Valley Sustainability Council Staff and board of directors
