Hawaii eyes strictest US plastics ban

Hawaii is actively considering a wide-ranging ban on single-use plastics in restaurants and government purchasing, but after passing the state Senate the measure hit a roadblock March 20 when lawmakers, in the face of more opposition, took out some of its toughest requirements.

The bill, which would make Hawaii the first state to ban many single-use plastics in restaurants, had passed the state Senate on a 23-1 vote earlier in March.

But after lengthy public comments on both sides, including many from restaurants saying it would raise prices, legislators in Hawaii's lower House hit the pause button and voted March 20 to take out some of the strictest provisions in favor of more dialogue.

They removed bans on single-use plastic bottles, utensils and polystyrene foam containers for businesses by 2022 and plastic bags by 2023, in restaurants and government offices, according to a summary on a state government website.

In its place, House lawmakers said they wanted a study group to develop a statewide policy on single-use plastics and work with businesses and others to address concerns about lack of suitable alternative products and health and safety concerns.

The House legislators did say they were still looking at banning those single-use plastics but postponed implementation to an "unspecified date."

The legislation remains alive and will next be considered by a House finance committee.

Ahead of the March 20 votes in other House committees, industry groups argued to lawmakers that alternatives to plastics could cost more and have the same or higher environmental impacts, and that state efforts should focus on more general waste reduction and recycling.

The American Chemistry Council, for example, said the Senate legislation "appears to be drafted under the false assumption that alternatives to these products are environmentally preferable."

ACC Senior Director of State Affairs Tim Shestek said in prepared comments to state legislators that PS foam cups weigh two to five times less than paper cups and require 50 percent less energy to produce.

And he argued that another alternative, compostable foodservice containers, can only biodegrade in an industrial composting facility, which Hawaii does not currently have.

In comments after the vote, Shestek said ACC was still awaiting more details on the changes. But he echoed earlier ACC comments against focusing on single-use plastics in favor of considering "all materials and technologies" around waste reduction.

"I'd say the committee took a thoughtful approach to these proposals, including the potential impact on local businesses," Shestek said. "I'm hopeful any future working group will look at how best to increase the recycling, recovery and composting of all materials so that any legislative proposal that may surface will actually reduce waste, rather than simply result in replacing one type of trash with another.

Supporters of the bans, however, argue they're needed to reduce plastic trash on the state's beaches and in the broader environment, where they can pollute the ocean and get into food chains after being eaten by fish and birds.

Sen. Mike Gabbard, sponsor of the state Senate bill, said that 90 percent of sea birds have some plastic in their stomachs.

"Plastic is a huge problem in our oceans, our wildlife, our environment as a whole and in human health," said Gabbard. His daughter Tulsi Gabbard is a member of Hawaii's U.S. Congressional delegation and a candidate for president.

Local governments face cleanup costs from plastic waste, making bans both a financial and public welfare priority, according to Rebecca Villegas, a member of the Hawaii County Council.

"I believe we need to be more proactive," she told the legislators. "It has been reported that most polystyrene foam and plastic bags are the top two contributors to the local waste stream and must be regularly removed from storm drains."

Local governments in the state currently ban some plastic products. Four counties ban plastic shopping bags — and those counties effectively cover the entire state — and two, Maui County and Hawaii County, either ban PS foam containers or are about to.

The state legislation attracted extensive public comments from many sides, filling up a 454-page document of statements released ahead of the March 20 hearing.

Environmental groups and local residents argued in favor of the bans, with some noting that 200 eateries in the state have joined an "ocean-friendly restaurants" program, where they have committed to not using PS foam or plastic bags and having reusable tableware available.

But many other restaurants and other residents objected to the proposed bans, with many smaller eateries saying that alternatives to EPS are significantly more expensive and don't work as well, leaving customers frustrated and their profit margins suffering.

The Hawaii Restaurant Association said the bans were too aggressive and alternative packaging is not fully developed, but it did note that it supports the legislation's goal of a state-level group examining plastics source reduction.

National chains like Starbucks and McDonald's are working toward fiber-based packaging and investing in research on new packaging like the NextGen Consortium, the trade group said.

"The alternate industry is in its infancy and that's why we at the Hawaii Restaurant Association urges you, our representatives to be patient with these aggressive deadlines for implementation," HRA said.

One local bottled water company, Hawaiian Water and Packaging, said it has tried to find environmentally responsible packaging. It currently uses bottles made from recycled PET, after earlier trying unsuccessfully to use refillable glass bottles and plastic bottles made from plants rather than petrochemicals.

"We learned that these bioplastic materials do not yet work for beverage bottles that must be sealed for consumer safety," said Jason Donovan, founder of the Hawaii Volcanic beverage brand, noting problems like the plant-based plastics cannot handle high temperatures in shipping and that they can pose problems for existing plastics recycling streams.