Colorado § 25-17-503 - Definitions - rules.

§ 25-17-503. Definitions - rules.

As used in this part 5, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) (a) "Carryout bag" means a bag that is furnished to a customer at a store or retail food establishment at the point of sale for use by the customer to transport or carry purchased items.

(b) "Carryout bag" does not include:

(I) A bag made of paper when the paper has a basis weight of thirty pounds or less;

(II) A bag that a pharmacy provides to a customer purchasing prescription medication;

(III) A bag that a customer uses inside a store to:

(A) Package loose or bulk items, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, candy, or greeting cards; nails, bolts, screws, or other small hardware items; live insects, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, or other small species; and bulk seed, bulk livestock feed, or bulk pet feed;

(B) Contain or wrap frozen foods, meat, seafood, fish, flowers, potted plants, or other items that, if they were to come in contact with other items, could dampen or contaminate the other items; or

(C) Contain unwrapped prepared foods or bakery goods; or

(IV) A laundry, dry cleaning, or garment bag.

(2) "Container" means a receptacle upon which or inside which food may be placed for consumption, whether or not the receptacle can be fully closed. "Container" includes hinged food containers, plates, bowls, cups, and trays.

(3) "Expanded polystyrene" means blown polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam™, and any other expanded or extruded foam consisting of thermoplastic petrochemical materials utilizing a styrene monomer and processed by techniques that may include:

(a) For expandable bead polystyrene, fusion of polymer spheres;

(b) Injection molding;

(c) Foam molding; and

(d) For extruded foam polystyrene, extrusion blow molding.

(4) (a) "Food" means any raw, cooked, or processed edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient used or intended for use or for sale, in whole or in part, for human consumption.

(b) "Food" does not include a drug, as that term is defined in section 25-5-402 (9).

(5) "Plastic" means a synthetic material made from linking monomers through a chemical reaction to create a polymer chain that can be molded or extruded at high heat into various solid forms that retain their defined shapes during their life cycle and after disposal.

(6) "Point of sale" means a check-out stand, cash register, or other point at which a sales transaction occurs in a store or retail food establishment or, for products that are ordered remotely from a store or retail food establishment and delivered, the location where the products are delivered.

(7) "Ready-to-eat food" means food that is cooked or otherwise prepared in advance for immediate consumption.

(8) "Recycled paper carryout bag" means a carryout bag made from one hundred percent:

(a) Recycled material; or

(b) Other post-consumer content.

(9) (a) "Retail food establishment" has the meaning set forth in section 25-4-1602 (14) except as provided in subsection (9)(b) of this section.

(b) "Retail food establishment" does not include farmers markets and roadside markets as described in section 25-4-1602 (14)(j).

(10) (a) "Reusable carryout bag" means a carryout bag that is designed and manufactured for at least one hundred twenty-five uses, can carry at least twenty-two pounds over a distance of one hundred seventy-five feet, has stitched handles, and is made of cloth, fiber, or other fabric or a recycled material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

(b) "Reusable carryout bag" does not include bags made of biologically based polymers such as corn or other plant sources; except that a carryout bag made of hemp is a reusable carryout bag if it is designed and manufactured in accordance with subsection (10)(a) of this section.

(11) "School" has the meaning set forth in section 23-3.9-101 (6).

(12) (a) "Single-use plastic carryout bag" means a carryout bag that is a single-use plastic product made predominantly of plastic derived from natural gas, petroleum, or a biologically based source, such as corn or other plant sources, and that is provided to a customer at the point of sale.

(b) "Single-use plastic carryout bag" does not include a reusable carryout bag.

(13) "Small store" means a store that operates solely in Colorado, has three or fewer locations in the state, and is not part of a franchise, corporation, or partnership that has physical locations outside of Colorado.

(14) (a) "Store" means, except as provided in subsection (14)(c) of this section, a grocery store, supermarket, convenience store, liquor store, dry cleaner, pharmacy, drug store, clothing store, or other type of retail establishment at which carryout bags are traditionally provided to customers.

(b) "Store" includes a farmers market, roadside market or stand, festival, or other temporary vendor or event that includes temporary vendors.

(c) "Store" does not include a small store.

Source: L. 2021: Entire part added, (HB 21-1162), ch. 440, p. 2910, § 2, effective July 6.