Honolulu City's plastic bag ban bill heads to final reading

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell has reaffirmed his support for a bill that would ban use of all plastic bags at stores, irrespective of whether reusable or compostable. The Bill 59, introduced by Councilman Brandon Elefante, will have a final reading before the City Council’s Public Works, Infrastructure and Sustainability Committee today. The bill was initially introduced on September 28, 2016. If approved by the Council, the bill will likely become a law. The proposed ban will go into effect starting 2020, sources said. Until then, local businesses will get time until then to adapt to the ban and get rid of their plastic bag inventory.

Caldwell stated that the plastic bags distributed at retail outlets cause huge environmental concern. Most of the people do not reuse those bags. The bags are carelessly thrown on roads and parks, which ultimately end up in Ala Wai Canal, and finally making its way into the ocean. Banning the use of plastic bag through a bill may bring some control to the huge problem by changing the people’s habits and eventually lead to a more sustainable environment, Caldwell added.

According to the bill, businesses shall be prohibited from providing plastic checkout bags and non-recyclable paper bags to their customers at the point of sale for the purpose of transporting groceries or other merchandise. Also, a business will not be prevented from making available to customers at the point of sale, reusable bags or recyclable paper bags, with or without charge, in order to protect or transport prepared foods, beverages or bakery goods. Under Bill 59, 2.25 mil bags will no longer be considered reusable.

The following plastic bags are exempted from the ban: Bags used by customers inside a business to package loose items such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, ground coffee, grains, candies or small hardware items; bags used to contain or wrap frozen foods, meat or fish, flowers or potted plants, or other items to contain dampness; bags used to protect or transport prepared foods, beverages, or bakery goods; bags provided by pharmacists to contain prescription medications; newspaper bags for home newspaper delivery; door-hanger bags; laundry, dry-cleaning or garment bags including bags provided by hotels to guests to contain wet or dirty clothing; bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as garbage, pet waste, or yard waste bags; bags used to contain live animals, such as fish or insects sold in pet stores or bags used to transport chemical pesticides, drain-cleaning chemicals, or other caustic chemicals sold at the retail level; compostable plastic bags.

Meantime, restaurants would be exempt from the ban and would be allowed to distribute plastic bags as they do now.