Go ‘all in’ for plastic bag ban

When it comes to the plastic bag law on Oahu, anything less than a full ban would be a waste of time.

So while we can appreciate City Councilman Brandon Elefante’s push to make it more difficult for retailers to hand out “reusable” plastic bags, his proposal unfortunately does not move the needle far enough.

A ban is not truly a ban if it allows half-steps, which is what the current plastic bag law — and Elefante’s well-intended proposal — does.

It’s why there are still plastic bags strewn along roadways and why they end up in the ocean, harming marine and coral life.

If retailers continue to distribute these “reusable” plastic bags, they will continue making their way into the environment.

Elefante’s proposal, Bill 59, will get its first public airing at Wednesday’s City Council meeting in Kapolei. Bill 59 would change the existing plastic bag ban by making it illegal to distribute “compostable” plastic bags at the checkout counter and requiring “reusable” plastic bags be at least 3 mils or 3/1,000 of an inch thick — up from 2.25 mils now allowed.

The measure mirrors Maui and Hawaii counties’ requirements that bags be at least 3 mils. But what exactly that would accomplish remains unclear, since more than likely, it simply would lead to the proliferation of even thicker bags.

In fact, Kahi Pacarro, executive director of the nonprofit Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, said thicker bags “use even more fossil fuels to make and transport,” noting they remain “a huge risk to our fragile environment.”

Pacarro proposes that bags be 4 mils, a threshold that ultimately makes it uneconomical for retailers to distribute them.

An outright ban, though, seems the most practical way to encourage consumers to change their routines and habits rather than enable them.

Having no plastic options essentially pushes consumers to use their own reusable cloth bags or perhaps pay a fee for paper sacks instead. It comes down to a matter of routine.

As for the compostable bags, Pacarro rightly said it makes sense to do away with them since they remain a danger to wildlife and can only be composted in a commercial composting facility — a facility that does not even exist on Oahu.

Bag bans cut this litter off at the source, according to an article published on Wired.com. In San Jose, Calif., a plastic bag ban led to an 89 percent reduction in the number of plastic bags winding up in the city’s storm drains, the article reported.

Already, City Council Chairman Ernie Martin is suggesting a go-slow approach to changing the existing plastic bag law. In this case, however, going slow equates to lengthening the time span that plastic bags will continue to cause damage, especially when they wind up in the ocean.

Martin said “eventually” all plastic bags will have to be banned, “but to get there we must be cognizant of the cost to consumers and the businesses impacted by any change to the ordinance.”

That might be so, but it’s worth remembering that the plastic-bag ban has been a long time coming.

The law was initially passed in April 2012 but took effect only last year — on July 1, 2015 — in order to give retailers time to use up their existing stock and purchase new ones. In those three years, the law was changed to allow compostable bags after an attempt to delete an original exemption for biodegradable bags drew pushback from merchants and plastic-bag makers.

But all these incremental steps simply won’t amount to a worthwhile ban if plastic bags — whether compostable or thicker 3 mil — are still handed out at the register. Retailers could be allowed to expend the supply they currently have and simply be done with purchasing plastic bags.

Incentives could be given to customers who bring in their own reusable fabric bags. Retailers such as Target already use that tactic, and even though it’s just a few cents, it’s both a savings and a mind-changer.

Elefante said he is open to suggestions regarding the bill’s language: “Essentially, it’s to strengthen what we currently have now while also moving our city forward and being much more sustainable.”

It’s time to go full-strength. Ending the use of plastic bags on Oahu won’t take place in the foreseeable future unless city leaders abandon the “go slow” approach and instead, take bold action.