Plastic bags quickly forgotten in Hawaii

The second time we checked out of a store in Hawaii, I noticed it.

Plastic bags weren't on the top of my mind during a recent vacation, but they quickly came to the surface inside a gift shop in Honolulu. It was the second store that handed us our items in a paper bag.

Each of Hawaii's five counties (each island is its own county) has a ban on traditional polyethylene plastic bags at checkout — effectively the nation's only statewide ban on bags. The county laws allow stores to hand out paper bags, reusable cloth bags or thick plastic bags at no charge.

My wife and I went to a grocery store, and got a few items for the next day. We checked out, and once again received our items in a paper bag.

“Did you notice anything different about checking out here?” I asked as we left the store.

“No,” my wife responded, puzzled at the question.

And such is life in the land of a plastic bag ban. Life went on, and people seemingly didn't miss the “single-use” plastic bag. (Full disclosure: I often find more than one use for my plastic bags at home in Michigan, and the leftovers go back to the store for recycling. In fact, we had three “single-use” bags with us in Hawaii, with shoes and other items inside that we didn't want rattling around loose inside our luggage.)

For the rest of the trip, I couldn't shake the thought of plastic bags. I kept my eyes peeled for bags on the roadside or beach, but didn't see a single plastic bag. I did see a paper bag on the roadside though. Our hotel in Kauai gave us a large reusable bag at check in with two bottles of water in it.

While taking a tour of the Kauai Coffee Co., I struck up a conversation with our friendly tour guide Chuck. He was retired, but worked part-time giving tours and helping out at the facility's gift shop, handing back bags of coffee inside paper bags. I asked him if people ever ask for plastic bags.

“No,” he said. “I can't remember anyone asking for a plastic bag.”

And this is what bag manufacturers have to fear when voters in California head to the polls in November to ultimately decide if a law to ban polyethylene bags will stand. It's quite possible that once consumers stop receiving plastic bags, they'll live life just like they did before them; not giving a single thought to them. And once more people travel to areas of bag bans, they'll push for similar laws in their own states and communities (remember how quickly smoking bans spread across the country?).

Not all plastic bags are outlawed in Hawaii. One of the exceptions allows stores to use thicker plastic bags (2.25 mils to be specific). ABC Stores, which is the ever-present convenience store and gift shop in Hawaii, takes advantage of this exception. With every purchase, they had out the heavy bag with handles and the company's large logo emblazoned on the side.

You couldn't help but see tourists carrying these bags all over Honolulu. They weren't always full of souvenirs either — I saw some at the beach, where people were pulling towels and other items out. People were reusing the bags. It goes to show that people do want to use plastic bags, and they have a purpose. Could you imagine putting a wet towel inside a paper grocery bag?

These thicker bags seemed like the best of both worlds — people got to use plastic bags, and they were reusing them. And the thicker bag meant that more PE was used to produce it than a normal bag. The proposed California ban also allows for these thicker 2.25 mil bags to be handed out.

ABC Stores certainly pays a hefty price for these bags over the traditional PE bag, but they get loads of free advertising as folks carry them around town and to the beach. Perhaps retailers in California may make similar choices if the entire state goes bag free after November's vote.