Bill calls for bag fee but discards further cutbacks in plastic

Environmentalists pushing for a ban on all plastic checkout bags to reduce litter and protect marine life maintain that a Honolulu City Council bill that was advanced Wednesday does not go far enough.

Amendments to Bill 59 made by Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga would require retailers to charge at least 10 cents for all reusable bags, compostable plastic bags and recyclable paper bags starting in July 2018. But the bill, introduced by Councilman Brandon Elefante, had sought to strengthen Oahu’s existing ban by phasing out so-called reusable plastic bags by 2020 and banning compostable plastic bags.

At Wednesday’s Public Works, Infrastructure and Sustainability Committee meeting, Fukunaga advanced her draft of the bill for final reading. Fukunaga, the committee’s chairwoman, said there seemed to be consensus on the bag fee. She said after the meeting that the bill could be placed on next week’s full Council meeting agenda, but that it could be deferred pending further discussions with stakeholders.

The bill has undergone several amendments, including one by Fukunaga that would have allowed retailers to hand out plastic checkout bags as long as they charge a fee. Fukunaga said after the meeting that the intent is not to repeal the ban but to change it so that all parties are in agreement.

Fukunaga told committee members, “The goal is really to develop a consensus as much as possible because this issue isn’t simply one of environmental protection, but it’s also a concern relating to business survivability. We want this to be something that businesses as well as community stakeholders can live with and be supportive of.”

But Elefante said after the meeting that he was disappointed with the draft that was moved out of committee, adding that businesses can already charge bag fees and that the city does not have a facility to compost plastic bags. He said he plans to introduce a floor draft to add his amendments to the bill.

“The end game was to look at tightening up our plastic bag ban that we have and really closing the gap,” Elefante said. “It’s kind of embarrassing that our city and county does not have a strong ordinance in place like some of our neighboring counties.”

The city’s existing plastic checkout bag ban, which went into effect in July 2015, allows businesses to hand out compostable plastic bags and reusable plastic bags that are at least 2.25 mils (2.25/1,000 of an inch) thick. The law exempts plastic bags of all types used for prepared baked goods, newspapers and other specific items. Hawaii became the first state to implement a ban on single-use plastic checkout bags in all counties.

At the meeting, Stuart Coleman of the Surfrider Foundation and other environmentalists agreed that the bill needs to eventually ban all plastic checkout bags. Coleman said he supported the fee with the caveat that businesses would move toward a complete ban on all plastic checkout bags.

“If we’re going to give the stores that money (from a fee), which we hope they’ll use to educate people about the importance of bringing reusable bags, then we can also have a sunset clause (to phase out plastic checkout bags), which was the original intent of the bill,” Coleman said.

Phasing out all plastic checkout bags was also supported by the city Department of Environmental Services.

But Lauren Zirbel of the Hawaii Food Industry Association said she does not support a ban on all plastic checkout bags. She said the fee would be the best compromise to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags.

Coleman and Zirbel worked together to help craft the fee proposal to discourage customers from using plastic checkout bags.

“Placing a fee on a bag, there’s so much research that shows that it really decreases the number of unnecessary bags,” Zirbel said. “It also provides a sort of mechanism for them (customers) to stop and think and decide whether or not they need the bag.”