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City Council passes bill to ban plastic bags in Honolulu

By Gordon Pang

POSTED:
LAST UPDATED: 12:19 p.m. HST, Apr 25, 2012

This file photo shows someone carrying plastic bags, which will be banned at retail stores in Honolulu under a bill approved by the City Council.

The Honolulu City Council this morning approved a bill that would ban the distribution of plastic bags by retailers effective July 1, 2015.

The vote was 7-1, with Councilman Nestor Garcia the sole no vote. Councilman Stanley Chang did not attend today's meeting at Kapolei Hale.

Retailers testified against the bill, saying they preferred a ban that also took into consideration paper bags.

A number of consumers, meanwhile, said they support a ban on plastic bags and hope eventually paper bags will also be banned.

Garcia said he preferred a fee for plastic bags, at least temporarily.

The bill now goes to Mayor Peter Carlisle's desk.






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loquaciousone wrote:
July 1, 2015?
on April 25,2012 | 11:53AM
Maneki_Neko wrote:
Repeal is scheduled for June 30, 2015. More kabuki from the masters of the art.
on April 25,2012 | 12:43PM
loquaciousone wrote:
Is Peter going to be back from vacation by then?
on April 25,2012 | 02:20PM
Maneki_Neko wrote:
Should be at work....unless he bags it, of course.
on April 25,2012 | 02:49PM
loquaciousone wrote:
According to the Mayan calendar the world will cease to exist, as we know it, on December 21 , 2012.
on April 25,2012 | 11:54AM
Maneki_Neko wrote:
Wouldn't it be great if the City Council ceased to exist on December 21, 2012. Or earlier.
on April 25,2012 | 12:44PM
MakaniKai wrote:
Agree......You crack me up!
on April 25,2012 | 12:52PM
loquaciousone wrote:
The City Council ceased to exist since 1892.
on April 25,2012 | 02:20PM
AmbienDaze wrote:
Its only fitting that Dick Clark passed away in the year that there will be no "New Year's Eve". Those Mayan's are pretty good.
on April 25,2012 | 12:46PM
loquaciousone wrote:
True but they really knew how to celebrate. The next Mayan celebration is Cinco de Maya.
on April 25,2012 | 02:22PM
KeithHaugen wrote:
I'm all for cleaning up the environment, but this ban on plastic bags from retail stores will just mean that everyone will have to buy plastic bags to line their rubbish cans. It saves the stores some money and increases the sales of plastic bags, so I guess it's good for business, bad for consumers.
on April 25,2012 | 12:00PM
hokumakakilo wrote:
I am very disappointed in the Council. As a result of the ban more dog waste will blanket the areas along sidewalks. It is hard enough to get people to pick up after their dogs, and without "free" bags hardly anyone will do it! I have seen dog owners even raid the recycle bins at stores just to get bags. I also will be sending my bill for upholstery cleaning to the Council when my take out food spills in the car! Those bags burn well in the H-Power plant. This is ridiculous. They should have just made a law requiring that all plastic bags be made of biodegradeable material by a certain year, not an outright ban!
on April 25,2012 | 12:01PM
keawe wrote:
biodegradable sure sounds bettah den paper bags...by and by no mo trees if we use da pepah bags
on April 25,2012 | 12:19PM
olos73 wrote:
Just take your dogs to Honolulu Hale grounds and let them do "their" business.
on April 25,2012 | 12:23PM
keola2011 wrote:
you can buy "poop bags" at the store. its not the end of the world, and poop is biodegradable, it will only turn into soil.
on April 25,2012 | 12:32PM
olos73 wrote:
Why buy poop bags then? Just let it be natural fertilizer.
on April 25,2012 | 01:33PM
MizuInOz wrote:
Becuz, cuz, you don't want to step in it... ;)
on April 25,2012 | 02:14PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Then buy biodegradeable shoes to throw away when you step on it or just watch where you are walking. Don't text and walk like the girl who fell in the sink hole in China.
on April 25,2012 | 05:30PM
Toneyuki wrote:
You can buy plastic bags too. That's not the point. It's just more stoopidity from our government trying to manage more details in our lives instead of doing the proper thing and EDUCATING people about not littering.
on April 25,2012 | 02:38PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
That is too simple and costs less. Stanley Chang wants his Nobel Peace prize for saving the environment.
on April 25,2012 | 05:31PM
postmanx wrote:
Awesome!
on April 25,2012 | 12:09PM
entrkn wrote:
2015 is better than never but Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii are doing it now... why can't Oahu?
on April 25,2012 | 12:10PM
olos73 wrote:
Yeah, but look how much dog poop is on their grounds...
on April 25,2012 | 12:20PM
DowntownGreen wrote:
It is being phased in over that time period to give people time to adjust.
on April 25,2012 | 03:21PM
likewise wrote:
I don't support this bill at all. Even though I have already transitioned to reusable grocery bags (or I take the plastic bags back to the store for the recycle bin) and purchased biodegradable pet waste bags it was my choice to do so. We should have gone with biodegradable plastic bags.
on April 25,2012 | 12:31PM
Wonderful_World wrote:
Nestor likes fees for EVERYTHING!!
on April 25,2012 | 12:41PM
Leilei wrote:
Good grief people of oahu. If the dog owners cant afford the the poo bags on a roll they shouldnt own a dog. And the dog bags that you buy are so much easier to carry with you on a leash and they dont have holes in them! And anything you buy, you're less likely to be careless with, accidentally drop, and they don't "fly" like the grocery bags. Ban the grocery plastic bags already!
on April 25,2012 | 12:45PM
hanoz808 wrote:
so now i wont have rubbish can liners! i guess i gotta wash my cans to keep it clean.
on April 25,2012 | 12:57PM
bikemom wrote:
You have three years to save up all the plastic bags you want.
on April 25,2012 | 10:37PM
bustapakman wrote:
Just another bad idea by the city council. So it's back to paper bags. Or you could just buy your own plastic bags and bring it to the market with you. And just for your information "biodegradable" bags takes around 4 years to degrade to a point that it becomes hardly noticeable in the soil.
on April 25,2012 | 01:50PM
SmedleyFerndock wrote:
The non-biodegradable plastic bags do not last very long either. I keep my dog poop (SA bags) in a market plastic bag on the Lanai. The market bag lasts about a year before it just fall to pieces and needs to be replaced. The eco claim that they last for centuries is questionable.
on April 25,2012 | 02:15PM
Toneyuki wrote:
They photodegrade. It's a little different from biodegrade. But in nature they don't last centuries, they might in landfills, but the break down in about the same time as paper does in a landfill.
on April 25,2012 | 02:40PM
Rooted wrote:
They break down into smaller pieces for sure but..... I have personally seen ocean water half way to Calif. that looks like endless plastic glitter when you jump in a look around. Small bits but never disappear. Who knows what creatures think its food.
on April 25,2012 | 03:45PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Yes, there should be more concern about what sea creatures or sea birds eat especially when our sewer system empties into streams and the ocean untreated or when certain surfers or fishermen use the ocean as a commode. What about the run off from polluted mountain streams or rivers all over the world?
on April 25,2012 | 05:40PM
Toneyuki wrote:
You have personally seen ocean water that looks like glitter? So what? Water sparkles.
on April 25,2012 | 09:03PM
frings wrote:
3 years to put a ban in place? This is a perferct example as to why so many of us have left Hawaii for the mainalnd. Here in Portland a ban was put in place in 90 days. In San Francisco, less thn 6 monthsa. Proof again that Hawaii is 3 hours and 50 years behind the times.
on April 25,2012 | 02:05PM
Toneyuki wrote:
San Fran also tried to ban pets and happy meals. We don't want to be like intolerant SanFran.
on April 25,2012 | 02:41PM
Maneki_Neko wrote:
The ban on heterosexuals is coming along nicely. I kid, I kid.
on April 25,2012 | 02:50PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Why not?
on April 25,2012 | 05:41PM
MizuInOz wrote:
I use reusable bags that have been made from reused post consumer plastic bottles - they look like regular plastic bags but are very strong and can be used over and over again. Haven't used the store bags for a long time. bio-degradable bags are a good choice but you will find bits of them from home-to-the-landfill because they deteriorate as soon as they are exposed to the sun. This isn't about saving the oil trees (that's where plastic bags come from). To me it is about reducing the cost of buying food and other goods. Paper bags need to be banned, too.
on April 25,2012 | 02:18PM
Toneyuki wrote:
Just because you feel that way doesn't mean you should force others to behave like you by banning what they use. It is a private stores choice on if they want to have plastic and paper bags as part of their business plan. Also if a store didn't use (very inexpensive bags) it probably wouldn't change how much they charge for groceries. If you want to lower the cost of products from the store, then the best way is to push for more American energy including (especially) oil. Lowering the cost of oil and energy lowers our consumer prices the most.
on April 25,2012 | 02:44PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Then why not just ban all forms of packaging while you're at it? Come by for your drive-in plate lunch, oops! No, paper or plastice plate, sorry, you'll just have to eat it off the floor.
on April 25,2012 | 05:45PM
luvshawaii wrote:
Couldn't take the heat from a few, so had to punish us all. No guts.
on April 25,2012 | 02:55PM
Maipono wrote:
This is just the start people, radical environmentalists are at it again, and the People's Republic of Honolulu/ Hawaii are more than happy to accomodate them. First it will be plastic bags, then paper bags, then to plastic packaging and to all things plastic. The "Cost of Paradise" just got a litttle more expensive and our "Ainokea" attitude is the cause. Please vote these jokers out of office change our attitude to " Aikea"!
on April 25,2012 | 03:11PM
IAmSane wrote:
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on April 25,2012 | 10:09PM
bikemom wrote:
The next step is to ban cigarette smoking on beaches. Stanley Chang is working on that.
on April 25,2012 | 10:41PM
Publicbraddah wrote:
Is Nestor Garcia taking another $60K bribe to side with the plastic bag companies? He's probably run out of the $60K from the pro rail group.
on April 25,2012 | 03:14PM
pakesack wrote:
Whats next? A ban on SUVs, minivans and pickups? Those are bad for the environment too. In fact all cars should be banned. We can just walk and ride bikes everywhere. Mother nature would love that.
on April 25,2012 | 03:29PM
aiea7 wrote:
no take the train.
on April 25,2012 | 03:46PM
Ambergris23 wrote:
if it's running by then... ha, ha
on April 25,2012 | 05:52PM
PCWarrior wrote:
Yup Garcia wanted a fee. A fee paid to him just like for his vote on the ridiculous rail project.
on April 25,2012 | 03:40PM
correiak002 wrote:
Can't they just require that plastic or paper bags be RECYCLED AND/OR RECYCLABLE? When are they going to stop nickel & dimeing us?
on April 25,2012 | 03:53PM
dlum003 wrote:
I see more cigarette butts lying around than bags. Let's ban cigarettes!!! Smokers are shameless litterers.
on April 25,2012 | 04:12PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Ciigarette butts are food for turtles & seals.
on April 25,2012 | 05:47PM
bikemom wrote:
You might partly get your wish. Stanley Chang is working on a bill to ban smoking on county beaches.
on April 25,2012 | 10:42PM
Ewaduffer wrote:
Goodbye you politicians who voted for this, your done!!
on April 25,2012 | 04:18PM
Oye_Como_Va wrote:
Wishful thinking! Theyll be back at spending everyones money while laughing all the way to the bank like the 'slot machine.'
on April 25,2012 | 05:49PM
vernchs wrote:
the answer is simple. Put a recycle fee on plastic bags and all the dumpster divers in my neighborhood will be able to retire early. A nickel a bag can add up fast. Part of the problem is that the H-powerplant cannot burn all of the rubbish before it hits the dump so who under designed the plant? If all of the collected rubbish is burnt, the dump has less smell, less volume(by 90%) and toxic items should not be floating in the ocean. Take the rail money and make the power plant biggah.
on April 25,2012 | 04:24PM
hawnpunch wrote:
Another bill...another fee....da vicious cycle neva ends!
on April 25,2012 | 04:53PM
niimi wrote:
Yeah! Now watch all them old folks start stashing away those bags!
on April 25,2012 | 05:22PM
niimi wrote:
Nestor just wanted more money into the coffers of the chity.
on April 25,2012 | 05:23PM
Ambergris23 wrote:
Soon we gotta buy the plastic bags that we get for free now....
on April 25,2012 | 05:51PM
Changalang wrote:
You get a better rate buying them yourself. The bag tax and the State bag tax disguised as a green move would make the cost of the bag more expensive for the end user. Don't believe me. Do the math.
on April 25,2012 | 07:13PM
ChickenLittle wrote:
I'm hoping this gets vetoed. I reuse my plastic bags as trash can liners.
on April 25,2012 | 06:06PM
Changalang wrote:
A for a real Green move. A ban gets them out of here. A bag tax just gives retailers an incentive to use more bags. Good job Council; very credible legislation.
on April 25,2012 | 07:11PM
blackkitty wrote:
With this law, the Law of Unintended Consequences will kick in ... without mulltiuse plastic bags, people will not have a convenient means of containing all their loose pieces of tissue, cellophane, candy wrappers, chips bags and food wrappers, newspaper bags and fast food containers, thereby increasing littering throughout the island. The ones who will be punished the most are the ones who can least afford it, i.e., the poor and the elderly who are already stretching their budgets to survive. Environmental issues are important but should be secondary to economic conditions, especially during the Obama recession.
on April 25,2012 | 07:36PM
Kuniarr wrote:
If the city council has nothing to do but ban plastic bag they should not do it.
on April 25,2012 | 07:55PM
spam wrote:
RUBBISH!!
on April 25,2012 | 10:27PM
WalkoffBalk wrote:
How about biodegradable condoms next?
on April 25,2012 | 11:28PM
roxeee wrote:
On Maui, we've had a plastic ban for over a year. No biggie at all.
on April 26,2012 | 12:19PM
mrmd303 wrote:
I have a incontinent husband and use at least two plastic grocery bags every day to dispose of the used adult diapers. What am I supposed to do now? One MUST use a plastic bag to dispose of such trash. What couldn't you pass a law that says retailers must use BIODEGRADABLE plastic as they do all over Fiji and Samoa?
on April 27,2012 | 09:35AM
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