Honolulu lawmakers mull ban on sale of plastic bottles on city properties

The Honolulu City Council is considering a ban on single-use plastic bottles on city properties, phased in over a three-year period with a few exemptions.

Bill 59, as drafted, states no single-use plastic bottles one liter in size or less may be “purchased, sold, or offered for sale for use at any city facility, city-authorized concession, city-sponsored or city-permitted event, or city program.”

“The Council, by resolution, may grant an exemption on an annual and renewable term of one year or less for specifically identified situations where the Council finds that there are no reasonable alternatives to the use of a single-use plastic bottle,” Bill 59 states.

In addition, the measure would allow the mayor to use single-use plastic bottles during an emergency or disaster “for the preservation of life, health, property, safety, or essential public service.”

Phased exemptions, according to the draft measure, would occur on or before Dec. 31, 2026, at any city facility, and after that, at any “city-authorized concession, city-sponsored event, city-permitted event, or city program” on or before Dec. 31, 2027.

Violators of a city-imposed plastic bottles ban could face civil penalties of $100 to $1,000, the measure states.

Introduced in October by Council member Matt Weyer and Council Chair Tommy Waters, Bill 59 states “that plastics entering the environment have had a demonstrable adverse effect on the health of the people of the City and County of Hono­lulu, as well as the environmental integrity of our islands.”

“Single-use plastic containers have been major contributors to street and beach litter, ocean pollution, harm to marine and other wildlife, and greenhouse gas emissions,” the measure states. “A significant portion of marine debris — estimated to be 80 percent — originates on land, primarily as escaped plastic refuse and litter in urban runoff.

“Certain single-use plastic containers, such as polyethylene terephthalate bottles, do not readily break down, and instead degrade into pieces and particles of all sizes, including micro- plastics, which can subsequently enter human bodies through the food stream and have been linked to serious human health problems,” the bill states.

But at the Council’s Nov. 7 meeting, Hawaii Kai resident Natalie Iwasa opposed Bill 59.

“We keep banning things,” she said, “but the preamble to this bill mentions litter and marine debris, which certainly is a problem, but it’s a behavioral issue; it’s human behavior.”

And “it’s not the type of item that’s being thrown away,” Iwasa added. “So a better solution, in my opinion, is to deal with the behavioral issue, not keep banning stuff.”

The American Beverage Association also opposed Bill 59, due to potential effects on local jobs.

“The American Beverage Association is the trade association representing the non-alcoholic beverage industry across the country and here in Hawaii,” ABA Vice President of State Government Affairs West David Thorp said in written testimony. “The beverage industry is an important part of Hawaii’s economy — and one of the few remaining industries still manufacturing on the islands.”

“Unlike most consumer products, many of our beverages, aluminum cans and plastic bottles are manufactured and distributed in Hawaii by local workers,” he said.

Nonalcoholic beverage companies in Hawaii provide 1,200 good-paying jobs across the state, according to Thorp.

“The industry helps to support thousands more workers in businesses that rely in part on beverage sales for their livelihoods, such as grocery stores, restaurants and theaters,” he said.

He asserted that “Hawaii beverage companies are taking bold actions to reduce their use of new plastic and make sure their bottles do not end up in nature or wasted in landfills.”

“We are carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable, even the caps,” Thorp said.

Council Vice Chair Esther Kia‘aina also had issues with Bill 59. “Not the intent but, of course, the practical implementation concerns of such a measure,” she said.

Still, the Council voted 8-0, with Augie Tulba absent, to pass the bill on the first of three readings.