Bill Text: HI SB522 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating To Plastic.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-09 - Act 254, 07/05/2019 (Gov. Msg. No. 1356). [SB522 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SB522-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

522

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

Relating to plastic.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


PART I

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the local and global impact of the world's increasing waste stream is unsustainable and detrimental to the future of Hawaii's economy and people.  There has been an exponential rise in single-use foodware items over the past few decades globally, with particularly high increases in plastics derived from fossils fuels.  Single-use disposable foodware and packaging - including plastic bottles, caps, lids, straws, cups, and polystyrene and plastic containers – are major contributors to street and beach litter, ocean pollution, marine and other wildlife harm, and greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the United Nations, since the 1950s, the production of plastic has outpaced that of almost every other material.  Much of the plastic produced is designed to be thrown away after being used only once.  As a result, plastic packaging accounts for about half of the plastic waste in the world.  Most of this waste is generated in Asia, while America, Japan, and the European Union are the world's largest producers of plastic packaging waste per capita.  The world's ability to cope with plastic waste is already overwhelmed as seen by the closing of recycling markets in China and Thailand.  Even when recycling markets were open, only nine per cent of the 9,000,000,000 tons of plastic produced has been recycled.  Most plastic ends up in landfills, dumps, incinerators, or in the environment.  If the growth in plastic production continues at its current rate, then by 2050, the plastics industry will likely account for twenty per cent of the world's total oil consumption.

Hawaii has a goal of carbon neutrality by 2045 and embraces the United Nations sustainable development goals, including achieving sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources, sound waste management, encouraging corporate sustainability practices, strengthening the State's reliance and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters, sustainably managing and protecting our marine and coastal ecosystems, and reducing pollution.  Decreasing the import and use of fossil fuel-based products like single-use plastics should become part of a movement toward reaching those goals.  For every one ton of waste seen at the end of life, seventy tons were created upstream in the extraction, production, and transportation sectors.  Alternatives to plastics already exist for many take-out items and an industry of innovative change for packaging is advancing globally.  Zero waste plastic reduction plans are moving forward all over the world, including within the European Union, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and municipalities across the United States.  The legislature finds that given the current trend, if Hawaii businesses are at the forefront of this movement, they will be less burdened by change.

Locally, plastic litter and debris can be increasingly found on every island and in every watershed and protected area from the remote Kalalau valley on Kauai to Kilauea caldera on Hawaii island.  Hawaii's forests, streams, and beaches are strewn with plastic debris, including micro plastic debris smaller than grains of sand, which are consumed by the smallest of endangered birds to the humpback whale.  Among other hazards, plastic debris attracts and concentrates ambient pollutants in seawater and freshwater, which can transfer to fish, other seafood, and salt that is eventually sold for human consumption.  Globally, ninety-five per cent of plastic packaging is discarded after a single use, at a cost of $80,000,000,000 to $120,000,000,000. 

The legislature further finds that cleaning up plastic is a significant cost to Hawaii taxpayers.  The cost of increasing cleanups by government agencies, businesses, and the general public is rising to account for expensive best management practices and mitigation.  A study of over ninety counties in California recently concluded that taxpayers are paying $428,000,000 per year to clean up plastic through storm drain management, street sweeping, and marine cleanups.  San Diego county, which has an equivalent population to Hawaii at 1,300,000 people, spends $14,000,000 annually cleaning up plastic.  In January, 2019, San Diego county passed legislation to phase out polystyrene foam and other single-use plastics.  The Hawaii department of transportation has already produced a trash management plan that shows that polystyrene foam and plastic bags are the top two contributors to the waste stream and must be regularly removed from storm drains at a cost to the department.

Major news and research publications like National Geographic and 60 Minutes are reporting on plastic pollution as one of the pressing environmental issues currently facing the world.  Minimizing packaging and utilizing alternatives derived from compostable materials, which are now widely available, can benefit the State's economy as it shifts toward a system of responsible reuse, which is a foundational principle of Native Hawaiian culture.  Additionally, the State's economy can become a leader in reducing waste by collaboratively working with businesses, as well as researching and implementing innovative solutions for all packaging coming into the State of Hawaii.

PART II

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 342H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§342H-    Single-use plastic food items; prohibited. 

(a)  No state or county agency shall purchase, use, sell, or distribute single-use plastic beverage bottles, utensils, stirring sticks, polystyrene foam containers, or straws after July 1, 2021.

     (b)  No restaurant, hotel, standard bar, or any other business where food or beverages are sold shall use, sell, or distribute single-use plastic beverage bottles, utensils, stirring sticks, polystyrene foam containers, or straws after July 1, 2022.

     (c)  No individual or business shall distribute, sell, or otherwise provide any form of plastic bag after July 1, 2023.

     (d)  No individual or business shall distribute, sell, or otherwise provide any form of single-use plastic beverage containers after July 1, 2025.

     (e)  For purposes of this section:

     "Business" means any commercial enterprise or establishment operating in the State, including any individual proprietorship, joint venture, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity, whether for profit or not for profit, and includes all employees of the business or any independent contractors associated with the business.

     "Plastic" means any material made of petrochemical polymeric compounds and additives that can be shaped by flow, including plastic bags of any thickness, but not bioplastics that are biodegradable and bioactive and are made from biomass or renewable sources such as sugarcane, cornstarch, or cassava root, chips, or starch. 

     "Polystyrene" means a thermoplastic petrochemical material utilizing a styrene monomer, including all polystyrene, meaning any styrene or vinyl chloride polymer that is blown into a foam-like material.  Polystyrene includes materials created from techniques including the fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding, and extrusion-blow molding (extruded foam polystyrene).

     "Polystyrene foam container" means a container that is made using polystyrene.

     "Prepared food" means food or beverages that are prepared to be consumed on or off the premises of a restaurant or food establishment.

     "Restaurant" means an eating establishment, including but not limited to coffee shops, cafeterias, sandwich stands, food trucks, and private and public school cafeterias, that gives or offers for sale food or beverages to the public, guests, or employees, as well as kitchens and catering facilities in which food or beverage is prepared on the premises for serving elsewhere.  The term "restaurant" includes a bar area within the restaurant and outdoor areas of restaurants."

PART III

     SECTION 3.  (a)  There is established within the department of health for administrative purposes a plastic source reduction working group.

     (b)  The working group shall:

     (1)  Formulate a plan for eliminating single-use plastic packaging from the Hawaii waste stream;

     (2)  Develop strategies to encourage reuse in the food service industry, such as reusable container incentive programs for customers; and

     (3)  Provide recommendations for composting plastics in Hawaii to encourage reuse of waste and create value added products to be used in regenerating Hawaii's agricultural potential.

     (c)  The membership of the working group shall be as follows:

     (1)  The director of the department of health or the director's designee;

     (2)  The chairperson of the board of land and natural resources or the chairperson's designee;

     (3)  Four members, one each to be appointed by the respective mayors of the city and county of Honolulu and the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui;

     (4)  A representative of the Surfrider Foundation;

     (5)  A representative of Zero Waste Oahu;

     (6)  A representative of the Hawaii Food Industry Association;

     (7)  A representative of the Hawaii Restaurant Association;

     (8)  A representative of the Hawaii Chamber of Commerce; and

     (9)  A representative of the Hawaii Tourism Association.

     The representatives in paragraphs (4) through (9) shall be selected by the director of health.

     (d)  The members of the working group shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses, including travel expenses, consulting fees, and administrative expenses such as photocopying, postage, stationery, and office supplies incidental to the performance of their duties.

     (e)  The working group shall work with the department of health, the carbon sequestration task force, private stakeholders, public stakeholders, or any other group or individuals the working group deems necessary.

     (f)  The working group shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including recommendations for pilot projects for Hawaii businesses to phase out single-use plastic packaging, promote reuse, and find sustainable alternatives for packaging, as well as any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2021.

     SECTION 4.  The working group shall cease to exist on June 30, 2022.

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $25,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2019-2020 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2020-2021 for expenses arising out of the activities of the plastic source reduction working group established pursuant to section 4 of this Act.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

PART IV

     SECTION 6.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2019.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Plastic Food Packaging; Plastic Bags; Single-Use Beverage Containers; Prohibition; Plastic Source Reduction Working Group; Appropriation

 

Description:

Prohibits the use of plastic bottles, utensils, stirring sticks, polystyrene foam containers, and straws by state agencies by July 1, 2021, and by businesses selling food and beverages by July 1, 2022.  Bans the distribution or sale of plastic bags after July 1, 2023.  Bans the sale or distribution of single-use plastic beverage containers after July 1, 2025.  Creates the plastic source reduction working group to make recommendations for eliminating single-use plastic packaging.  Appropriates funds.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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