On January 1, 2024, Colorado Senate Bill 19-243 went into effect prohibiting food establishments from distributing polystyrene foam containers and cups.

The Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) was called to order at 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. They began the meeting by discussing appointments to subcommittees: Energy, Zero Waste, Rights of Nature, and Solar.

Chair Melody Baumhover summarized the roles and process of establishing SAB subcommittees. This begins with a specific active project led by at least one SAB member and community volunteers. Subcommittees play an important role in getting technical work done, as this work is less subject to Sunshine Laws and allows for more community engagement with active volunteers.

The SAB may need to consider establishing a new subcommittee to support the directives of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan, scheduled to be finalized by October 2024. With that acknowledgement, members recognized that it would be wise to include sunsetting verbiage when establishing subcommittees forward. Putting an evaluation date on subcommittees will help reallocate resources as project priorities shift and projects are successfully completed.

Board member Rab Lachance launched a discussion of the Nederland Sustainability Scorecard, a tool in the Nederland Planning Process (NPP) used to rate projects by 12 categories in three main sustainability areas: environmental, social, and economic. Board members will meet to review the language in the scorecard pertaining to natural gas and heat pumps. They will also discuss the possibility of including a requirement for carbon footprint and life cycle analyses.

The Board recognized that larger projects will likely need a different set of data collection and reporting requirements than smaller projects, These requirements may vary depending on the nature of the project – for example, infill projects are more efficient.

Town Administrator Miranda Fisher updated the SAB on the status of the LED sign and in-vessel composter. The LED sign is in Nederland waiting to be installed. Sustainability Coordinator Leah Haney will serve as the point of contact for messaging. The in-vessel composter is permitted; however, there is a delay in the subcontractors installing the compost pad.

Baumhover added, “We have been trying to get a composter at the transfer station for a long time. Getting a composter is a great thing.”

The bulk of this meeting was spent discussing the new plastic ban ordinance. On January 1, 2024, Colorado Senate Bill 19-243 went into effect prohibiting food establishments from distributing polystyrene foam containers and cups. This ban applies to all retail food establishments in Colorado, including restaurants, fast food establishments, cafeterias, schools, and prisons. Retailers selling only prepackaged food purchased from a third party in its original package are exempt. Other exemptions include private homes and farmers markets. Establishments are allowed to use up any remaining inventory of polystyrene foam cups and food containers after January 1, 2024, while supplies last.

This state ban gives the SAB jurisdiction for regulation of polystyrene in Nederland.

The SAB spent time reviewing and discussing changes to a draft of the Plastic Pollution, Single-Use Paper Bag, and Polystyrene Reduction Waste Minimization Ordinance. This ordinance will be brought before the Nederland Board of Trustees on Tuesday, May 7, with an anticipated vote on Tuesday, May 21, building on the previous plastic bags ordinance, which added a fee for plastic bags.

This draft ordinance has a set-aside for fees to be allocated toward education and remediation. The ordinance must be aligned with the Colorado State Statute. Expanding any additional regulations in this ban may be developed as amendments in the future.

The Zero Waste Subcommittee will be ready to educate the community in June, as the law takes effect on July 1. The group urges the public to educate and support businesses through this transition, making sure businesses know this is coming forward.

Meanwhile, while the Town did apply for a grant to fund the purchase of ordinance-compliant containers to support affected businesses with this transition, funding was not awarded.

The SAB adjourned at 7:55 p.m.

Review the Nederland Sustainability Scorecard online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpKvfUuLHmOqDK1xr KfXjF0NmgzX5reDgwX4jYPgR6w SG0TQ/viewform?pli=1.

Eco-Cycle has developed a 2024 Polystyrene Ban Toolkit for Businesses, available online at https://ecocycle.org/ourprograms/zero-waste-colorado/plastic-pollution-reduction-actoverview/2024-ppra-guide-forbusinesses/2024-polystyrene-banbusiness toolkit/.

Nederland Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) meets on the fourth Thursday of the month at 6:45 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 23, 2024. For more information go to: townofnederland.colorado.gov/ sustainability-advisory-board.