Ban non-recyclable polystyrene foam

In Hawaii, everyday takeout food is often served up in polystyrene foam containers. Evidence of our on-the-go eating — clamshell containers and cups — pile up in trash bins lining beach parks and city streets.

The lightweight foam, which can easily drift away from waste collection systems and accumulate on land and in water, is bad for the environment. There’s no disputing that petroleum-based polystyrene litter can leach toxins and do harm to birds and marine life. And none of it is recyclable in the islands.

Why, then, do we continue to use this stuff? On Maui, this question has been debated since a countywide ban was first proposed in 2009. The strongest argument to surface for maintaining status quo? Polystyrene food service containers are typically cheaper for businesses to keep in inventory than environmentally friendly containers that can be recycled here.

The Maui County Council is to be commended for deciding that reason is no longer good enough. Last week, Maui County became the first county in Hawaii to pass a ban on foam takeout food containers. The ban takes effect on Dec. 31, 2018.

The other neighbor islands should follow suit. Because there’s no polystyrene recycling facility in the state, takeout containers on Maui, Kaui and Hawaii island end up in landfills. That further threatens our state’s environmental health as such space is tightly limited in an islands-based economy.

On Oahu, Honolulu’s waste collection system bypasses the landfill to deliver all of its polystyrene materials to HPOWER, where it’s burned as a inexpensive source for fuel. The city’s HPOWER waste-to-energy plant produces up to 10 percent of Oahu’s electricity. However, when incinerated, polystyrene releases toxic ash and smoke. Honolulu County, too, should ban the stuff. We should follow the example of more than 100 cities and counties on the mainland that now have foam bans in place for the sake of a cleaner environment.

Earlier this year, Hawaii’s state lawmakers considered Senate Bill 1109, which aimed to ban most food vendors in the islands from handing out expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam containers. The measure stalled, but ban supporters will rightly continue to push for change — and some smaller-scale bans are already in effect. At the University of Hawaii at Manoa, for example, a student-initiated ban on use of EPS foam at all campus food establishments, has been in place as a policy for four years. Also the Hawaii Ocean Friendly Restaurant program, launched last year, now includes more than 130 eateries certified as foam-free. Participants use only recyclable or compostable containers.

Under the bill that Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa signed into law, businesses could face a $1,000 fine each day for a violation. The ban fairly balances that tough stand by allowing various exemptions including one for businesses that can prove cases of insurmountable hardship tied to the switch.

Included in the ban: various types polystyrene foam and non-foam products, and some similar plastics, such as cups (typically red or blue) that often turn up at parties and potlucks.

Maui’s new law furthers environmental protections enacted when that county’s plastic bag ban was launched, back in 2011. Honolulu’s City Council should take note. While the neighbor islands are maintaining effective checkout-counter bans, Oahu’s law, which has been on the books for nearly two years, is lagging behind. It’s in need of loophole-tightening and a plastic bags sunset deadline.

Maui’s polystyrene law did not take shape quickly — the pros and cons were weighed for some eight years. But in the end, green-focused sustainability prevailed. Manufacturers, distributors and retailers now have time to adjust to the new market.

The bottom line, Arakawa said in a letter to the County Council, is that “the benefits outweigh any of the perceived inconveniences to our community.” The same should hold true for the rest of the state.