Colorado’s Styrofoam ban took effect January 1, 2024, and prohibits restaurants, food trucks, cafeterias, and other food service businesses from giving customers expanded polystyrene containers for ready-to-eat food. The rule comes from the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act (House Bill 21-1162). Repeat violations carry civil penalties of up to $1,000 per offense.
Which Foam Containers Are Banned
The prohibition applies to expanded polystyrene products used as containers for ready-to-eat food.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 25 Section 25-17-506 – Prohibition on Expanded Polystyrene Products In everyday terms, that covers foam clamshells for takeout and leftovers, foam plates, foam bowls, and foam cups handed out at the point of sale. If a customer walks away from your counter carrying food in a foam container, that container is the problem.
Foam products outside the food service stream are not covered. Foam coolers sold at a sporting goods store, packing peanuts inside a shipping box, and foam building insulation are all untouched by this statute. The law targets the specific slice of polystyrene that reaches consumers through prepared food.
Which Businesses Have to Comply
Colorado defines a “retail food establishment” broadly: any operation that stores, prepares, packages, or serves food for human consumption, whether people eat on-site, carry it out, or receive it through delivery.2Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 25 Section 25-17-503 – Definitions That sweeps in:
- Restaurants and fast-food chains, including dine-in, takeout, and drive-through
- Food trucks and other mobile food units
- Grocery store delis, salad bars, and prepared food counters
- School cafeterias and institutional kitchens
Farmers markets and roadside markets fall outside the definition, so vendors at those locations are not subject to the foam ban.2Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 25 Section 25-17-503 – Definitions
Exceptions Written Into the Law
Some foam containers remain legal even at businesses otherwise covered.
Pre-packaged items. Products that arrive at a store already sealed in foam by a manufacturer are not covered. Egg cartons, raw meat trays, and similar grocery packaging sit outside the ban because the retail establishment didn’t choose the container.
Medical and pharmaceutical uses. Foam containers for transporting medications, medical devices, dietary supplements, and biological samples remain legal.3Colorado General Assembly. HB21-1162 Management of Plastic Products Temperature-sensitive healthcare shipments are specifically protected.
Pre-2024 stock. Businesses that bought foam products before January 1, 2024, were allowed to finish using their existing inventory.1Justia Law. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 25 Section 25-17-506 – Prohibition on Expanded Polystyrene Products Nearly two years in, that supply has run out for most operations. If foam is still going out the door in 2026, the transition is overdue.
Penalties for Violating the Ban
Enforcement is a local government job, not a state agency’s, and typically happens alongside routine health and safety inspections.3Colorado General Assembly. HB21-1162 Management of Plastic Products Penalties escalate with each offense:
- First violation: no monetary penalty. It functions as a warning.
- Second violation: civil penalty of up to $500.
- Third or later violation: civil penalty of up to $1,000 per offense.3Colorado General Assembly. HB21-1162 Management of Plastic Products
One gap is worth flagging. Local governments cannot enforce the ban against a retail food establishment located inside a school.3Colorado General Assembly. HB21-1162 Management of Plastic Products School cafeterias are still covered by the prohibition on paper, but no local authority can issue them a fine.
What to Use Instead
The statute does not name replacement materials. It only forbids expanded polystyrene, which leaves three practical paths: reusable containers, recyclable plastics, and compostable products.
Containers made from #1 PETE, #2 HDPE, or #5 PP plastics are widely accepted by Colorado recycling programs. Paper-based containers are another option, but many are lined with a thin plastic coating that makes them non-recyclable in practice. Compostable containers only help if your local composting facility actually accepts them. Some Front Range communities have stopped accepting compostable food packaging in compost bins, so those containers end up as trash anyway.
Expect the switch to cost more. Compostable and recyclable alternatives generally run higher per unit than the foam they replace, and operations with tight margins should build that into pricing rather than absorb it indefinitely.
The Bag Rule That Took Effect the Same Day
HB 21-1162 did more than ban foam. It also eliminated single-use plastic carryout bags on January 1, 2024. The rollout came in two phases: starting January 1, 2023, large retailers had to charge a minimum $0.10 fee on every disposable checkout bag; then in 2024, single-use plastic bags were banned outright and the $0.10 fee shifted to recycled paper bags only.3Colorado General Assembly. HB21-1162 Management of Plastic Products
If your business serves food and hands out bags at checkout, both parts of the law apply at once. Revenue from the bag fee is earmarked to help local governments cover administration and enforcement of the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act, including polystyrene enforcement.