One More Vote: Denver Moves Closer To Charging For Plastic Grocery Bags

DENVER (CBS4) -- Denver's City Council has to take one more vote next week, and if it goes through -- get ready to pay 10 cents for each grocery bag. The idea is to get people to reduce waste -- in particular the use of plastics.

People in Denver use up to 250 million bags per year and only up to 5% are recycled. The rest end up in the waste system.

Other cities have reported a reduction at least in plastic bags of 70 percent. Breckenridge passed a similar ordinance six years ago.

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But critics say this cost can hurt the poor -- and some also say this pushes more people to buy other kinds of plastic bags.

There are some exemptions for this measure -- such as meat and clothing.