§ 25-17-703 — Definitions

As used in this part 7, unless the context otherwise
requires:

(1) Additional producer responsibility organization means a nonprofit
organization designated by the department as an additional producer responsibility
organization pursuant to section 25-17-708 (2)(b).

(2) Advisory board means the producer responsibility program for
statewide recycling advisory board created in section 25-17-704 (1).

(3) Amended plan proposal means an amended plan proposal for the
implementation of the program submitted to the advisory board after the advisory
board's initial review of the plan proposal in accordance with section 25-17-705 (5).

(4) Collection means the gathering and transportation of covered materials
from covered entities for the purpose of recycling.

(5) Collection rate means the weight of covered materials that are
collected under the program in a calendar year divided by the weight of covered
materials used for products sold or distributed by producers within or into the state
in the same calendar year, expressed as a percentage.

(6) Commission means the solid and hazardous waste commission created
under section 25-15-302 (1)(a).

(7) Compost means the material or product that is developed under
controlled conditions and that results from biological degradation processes by
which organic wastes decompose.

(8) (a) Compost facility means a site where compost is produced.

(b) Compost facility includes only those compost facilities that readily
accept and process packaging material collected from consumers.

(9) Compostable means a covered material associated with organic waste
streams that is capable of undergoing aerobic biological decomposition in a
controlled composting system as demonstrated by meeting ASTM D6400 or ASTM
D6868, or any successor standards.

(10) Consumer means any person who purchases or receives covered
materials in the state and is located at a covered entity.

(11) Convenience standards means the standards for the program as
described in section 25-17-706 (3).

(12) Covered entity means the following locations in the state from which
covered materials are collected:

(a) All single-family or multifamily residences in the state; and

(b) Nonresidential locations identified in the final plan, including public
places; small businesses; schools, as defined in section 22-1-132 (2)(c); hospitality
locations; and state and local government buildings.

(13) (a) Covered materials includes:

(I) Packaging material, except as specified in subsection (13)(b) of this
section; and

(II) Paper products, except as specified in subsection (13)(b) of this section.

(b) Covered materials does not include:

(I) Packaging materials intended to be used for the long-term storage or
protection of a durable product and that are intended to transport, protect, or store
the product for at least five years;

(II) Paper products that, through their use, could become unsafe or
unsanitary to handle;

(III) Printed paper used to distribute financial statements, billing statements,
medical documents, or other vital documents required to be provided in paper form
by applicable consumer protections laws or other state or federal laws;

(IV) Bound books;

(V) Beverage containers subject to a returnable container deposit, if
applicable;

(VI) Packaging material used exclusively in industrial or manufacturing
processes;

(VII) Packaging material used to contain a product that is regulated as a
drug, medical device, or dietary supplement by the federal food and drug
administration under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. sec. 301
et seq., as amended, or any federal regulation promulgated under the act, or any
equipment and materials used to manufacture such products;

(VIII) Packaging material used to contain a product that is regulated as
animal biologics, including vaccines, bacterins, antisera, diagnostic kits, and other
products of biological origin under the federal Virus-Serum-Toxin Act, 21 U.S.C.
sec. 151 et seq., as amended;

(IX) Packaging material used to contain a product that is regulated under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, 7 U.S.C. sec. 136 et seq., as
amended;

(X) Packaging material used to contain architectural paint covered under a
paint stewardship program in accordance with part 4 of this article 17;

(XI) Packaging material used to contain a product that is required under
state law to be sold in packaging material that meets the standards set forth in the
Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970, 15 U.S.C. sec. 1471 et seq., as amended;

(XII) Packaging material used to contain a portable electronic device, as
defined in section 10-4-1501, that has been repaired and reconditioned to be sold as
a refurbished product;

(XIII) Paper products used for a print publication that primarily includes
content derived from primary sources related to news and current events;

(XIV) Packaging material used to contain a product that is regulated as
infant formula, as defined in 21 U.S.C. sec. 321 (z), as a medical food, as defined in 21
U.S.C. sec. 360ee (b)(3), or as fortified nutritional supplements used for individuals
who require supplemental or sole source nutrition to meet nutritional needs due to
special dietary needs directly related to cancer, chronic kidney disease, diabetes,
malnutrition, or failure to thrive, as those terms are defined by the World Health
Organization's International Classification of Diseases (tenth revision), as
amended or revised, or any other medical conditions as determined by the
commission by rule; and

(XV) Any other material that, based on an analysis by the organization of the
operational and financial impacts of the proposed changes and after consultation
with the advisory board, the commission determines by rule to not be a covered
material.

(14) Department means the department of public health and environment
created in section 24-1-119.

(15) Environmentally sound management practices means policies that
ensure compliance with all applicable environmental laws, including laws
addressing:

(a) Record keeping;

(b) Tracking and documenting the disposition of covered materials collected
from covered entities; and

(c) Environmental liability coverage for professional services and contractor
operations.

(16) Executive director means the executive director of the department or
the executive director's designee.

(17) Final plan means the plan proposal or amended plan proposal that has
been designated as the final plan by the executive director pursuant to section 25-17-705 (5)(c)(I).

(18) Front range means the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder,
Douglas, Elbert, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, Pueblo, Teller, and Weld and the cities
and counties of Broomfield and Denver.

(19) Local government means a home rule or statutory county,
municipality, or city and county.

(20) Materials recovery facility means a facility for processing covered
materials that are collected for recycling before they are conveyed to end-market
businesses.

(21) Mechanical recycling means a form of recycling that does not change
the basic molecular structure of the material being recycled.

(22) Minimum recyclable list means the list of covered materials developed
under section 25-17-706 (1)(a).

(23) Needs assessment means the assessment of the state's recycling
needs conducted pursuant to section 25-17-705 (3).

(24) Nonprofit organization means a tax-exempt charitable or social
welfare organization operating under 26 U.S.C. sec. 501 (c)(3) or 501 (c)(4) of the
federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

(25) (a) (I) Packaging material means any material, regardless of
recyclability, that is intended for single or short-term use and is used for the
containment, protection, handling, or delivery of products to the consumer at the
point of sale, including through an internet transaction.

(II) Packaging material includes products supplied to or purchased by
consumers for the express purpose of facilitating food or beverage consumption
and that are:

(A) Ordinarily disposed of after a single or short-term use; and

(B) Not designed for reuse or refill.

(III) Packaging material includes paper, plastic, glass, metal, cartons,
flexible foam, rigid packaging, or other materials or combination of these materials.

(b) Packaging material does not include:

(I) Packaging materials used solely in transportation or distribution to
nonconsumers;

(II) Packaging materials used solely in business-to-business transactions
where a covered material is not intended to be distributed to the end consumer;

(III) Packaging materials that are not sold or distributed to covered entities;
or

(IV) Packaging materials that are used for products sold or distributed
outside the state.

(26) Paper products means paper and other cellulosic fibers, whether or
not they are used as a medium for text or images, including:

(a) Flyers;

(b) Brochures;

(c) Booklets;

(d) Catalogs;

(e) Telephone directories;

(f) Newspapers;

(g) Magazines; and

(h) Paper used for writing or any other purpose.

(27) Plan proposal means the plan proposal for the implementation of the
program submitted to the advisory board in accordance with section 25-17-705 (4).

(28) Postconsumer-recycled-content rate means the amount of
postconsumer recycled materials used in the production of covered materials in a
calendar year divided by the amount of covered materials used for products sold or
distributed by producers within or into their United States market territory in the
same calendar year, expressed as a percentage.

(29) (a) Postconsumer recycled material means only those covered
materials that have served their intended end use as consumer items and that have
been separated or diverted from the waste stream for the purposes of collection
and recycling as a secondary material feedstock.

(b) Postconsumer recycled material includes returns of material from the
distribution chain.

(c) Postconsumer recycled material does not include waste material
generated during or after the completion of a manufacturing process.

(30) Producer means:

(a) (I) If the product is sold or distributed in the state using packaging
materials under the manufacturer's own brand or is sold or distributed in the state
using packaging materials that lack identification of a brand, the person that
manufactures the product;

(II) If the product is manufactured by a person other than the brand owner,
the person that is the licensee of a brand or trademark under which a packaged
item is sold or distributed in the state, whether or not the trademark is registered in
the state; or

(III) If there is no person described in subsection (30)(a)(I) or (30)(a)(II) of this
section within the United States, the person that imports the product using covered
materials into the United States for use in a commercial enterprise that sells or
distributes the item in the state;

(b) For the purposes of products that are sold or distributed in the state
through an internet transaction:

(I) The producer of the packaging material used to directly protect or contain
the product; and

(II) For the purposes of packaging material used to ship a product to a
consumer, the person that packages or ships the product to the consumer;

(c) For the purposes of a paper product that is a magazine, newspaper,
catalog, telephone directory, or similar publication, the publisher of the paper
product;

(d) For the purposes of paper products not described in subsection (30)(c) of
this section:

(I) The person that manufactures the paper product under the
manufacturer's own brand; or

(II) If the paper product is manufactured by a person other than the brand
owner, the person that is the owner or licensee of the brand or trademark under
which the paper product is used in a commercial enterprise, sold, or distributed in or
into the state, whether or not the trademark is registered in the state; or

(e) For any other covered material, the person that first distributes the
covered material in or into the state.

(31) Producer responsibility dues means the amounts established in section
25-17-705 (4)(i)(II) that a producer participating in the program pays annually into
the program pursuant to section 25-17-709 (1).

(32) Producer responsibility organization or organization means the
nonprofit organization designated to implement the program pursuant to section
25-17-705 (1)(b)(II).

(33) Producer responsibility program for statewide recycling or program
means the producer responsibility program for statewide recycling created in
accordance with section 25-17-705.

(34) Proprietary information means information that, if made public:

(a) Would divulge competitive business information or trade secrets of the
entity that developed the information; or

(b) Would reasonably hinder the entity's competitive advantage in the
market.

(35) (a) Public place means an indoor or outdoor location in the state that is
open to and generally used by the public.

(b) Public place includes streets; sidewalks; plazas; town squares; state-owned or local-government-owned parks, beaches, and forests; other state-owned
or local-government-owned land open for recreation or other public uses; and
transportation facilities, including bus and train stations and airports.

(c) Public place does not include industrial, commercial, or privately owned
property.

(36) Readily recyclable material means a covered material that is included
on the minimum recyclable list.

(37) (a) Recycling means the reprocessing, by means of a manufacturing
process, of a used material into a product or a secondary raw material.

(b) Recycling does not include:

(I) Energy recovery or energy generation by means of combustion;

(II) Use as a fuel;

(III) Use as alternative daily cover as defined in section 30-20-1402 (1); or

(IV) Landfill disposal of discarded covered materials.

(38) (a) Recycling rate means the weight of covered materials that are
recycled under the program in a calendar year divided by the weight of covered
materials used for products sold or distributed by producers within or into the state
in the same calendar year, expressed as a percentage.

(b) The recycling rate is measured at the point where collected covered
materials have been prepared for sale or delivery to material reclaimers or end
markets after processing at a materials recovery facility or similar establishment
that sells directly to reclaimers or end markets.

(39) (a) Recycling services means services provided for the recycling of
covered materials, including the collection, transportation, and processing of
covered materials from the consumer to the end market.

(b) Recycling services includes curbside services and drop-off centers.

(40) Recycling services costs means the costs of recycling programs to
provide recycling services, including applicable costs related to:

(a) The administration of recycling programs;

(b) Capital improvements to recycling programs;

(c) The collection, transportation, sorting, and processing of covered
materials;

(d) Public education about recycling programs; and

(e) Disposal of nonrecyclable collected covered materials.

(41) Responsible end market means a materials market in which the
recycling of materials or the disposal of contaminants is conducted in a way that:

(a) Benefits the environment; and

(b) Minimizes risks to public health and worker health and safety.

(42) Retailer means a person that sells to consumers within or into the
state, including sales made through an internet transaction, products for which
covered materials are used.

(43) Reuse or refill means the return into the marketplace of a covered
material that:

(a) Has already been used in the same manner as originally intended without
a change in the covered material's purpose; and

(b) Was intended to be used for its original purpose at least five times.

(44) Service provider means a public or private entity, other than the
producer responsibility organization, that provides recycling services in the state.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2022: Entire part added, (HB 22-1355), ch. 337, p. 2391, � 1, effective August 10. L. 2024: (20) amended, (HB 24-1449), ch. 192, p. 1130, � 7, effective July 1.