The Colorado government began charging shoppers 10 cents per plastic bag as a way to combat climate change last year.  The mesasure went into effect on January 1 and Greeley West High School catering classes are already feeling the burden.

Catering and Baking and Pastry teacher Ms. Brenda Guzman always goes out on her own time before school to get groceries for the food used in her classes.  The budget for her program was directly  affected by this change.

This charge is being added to grocery bills because the state wants to reduce the amount of litter and excess plastic and paper consumption. People all over the state of Colorado are being charged for each bag they use at grocery stores, hoping to encourage reusual and tote bags. 

The extra 10 cents added to grocery bills can add up, especially for big families, school functions, and large gatherings that require a lot of bags.  This is exactly Guzman’s scenario.  Over break, Guzman tried to embrace the new law.  “Over Christmas Break, I bought IKEA bags (for shopping.)  But I can only take in as many as two or three bags for incredients to fill (my list),” Guzman said.   

Guzman is left wondering if lab sizes will get smaller as a result.  “It’s going to cut labs and it’s going to be (more) difficult. It does make a difference,” Guzman added.

In addition, Guzman is concenred because the price of eggs has gone up due to another state law.  All eggs grown must be cage free as of January 1 as well, which has resulted in increase in price.  Guzman is worried she will have to charge more for pastry and baking products her classes create.

The grocery charges will also impact students and parents.  Baking and Pastry senior Allison Malson went to the self-checkout with her mom at King Soopers and noticed that they had to type in how many bags they were taking so they could pay for them. “It was quite a shock to me. I heard that this was going to happen a while ago, but now that it’s actually in place it’s weird because no one has ever had to pay for them.”