Starting next year, all retailers in Fort Collins will be required to charge shoppers for disposable bags.

The Coloradoan reports the city council passed the (amended) ordinance by a 5-2 vote.

Effective April 1, 2015, the city will implement a 5-cent fee on disposable bags from all retailers. The amended ordinance is a mix between the original one passed on first reading in July and a new one recently introduced as a possible alternative in response to public input. With the amendments, retailers will be required to obtain consent from customers before charging them for a bag. The city also will have to evaluate any opportunities it might have to reduce the use of disposable bags in its own operations.

The five-cent fee is half of the originally-proposed 10-cent fee.  Also, retailers will not be required to use half the revenue from bag fees to produce reusable bags for customers (which was also originally proposed).

Do you think this is a good way to help the environment, or a terrible way of taxing residents?  Let us know in the comments!

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