Legislative Project, Environmental Law Class (Prof. Antolini), UH Law School
Nov. 7, 2007
Testimony of Jodi Higuchi,
City & County of Honolulu, Department of Environmental Services
Before the House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection: Rep. Hermina Morita, Chair
& Rep. Mele Carroll, Vice Chair
Bill Banning Plastic Bags
Dear Chair, Vice-Chair, and Members:
On behalf of the City & County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services, I write in
support of the proposed legislation that bans the use of plastic bags in retail stores by 2010. The
Department of Environmental Services strives to promote a sustainable waste management system
and a healthy environment for Honolulu. The proposed ban on plastic bags supports these goals.
First, eliminating the use of plastic bags will lessen the City & County of Honolulu’s burdensome
responsibility to manage Oahu’s waste. The City may then reallocate money saved to other City
needs or invest in other waste management alternatives. In addition, the ban on plastic bags will
promote a healthier environment. I also ask that the legislature consider possible amendments to this
bill to ensure the measure’s effective implementation.
Reducing the Burdens on the City & County of Honolulu. The Department of Environmental
Services (ENV) manages Oahu’s wastewater, storm water, and solid waste.1 ENV strives to promote
public health and the environment while providing an island-wide waste management system.2
Eliminating plastic bags will support ENV’s goals when the ban reduces the amount of municipal
solid waste that ends up in the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill (WGSL). Retail stores choose
plastic bags for customer packaging because they cost the least to purchase and are the cheapest to
import.3 With
the mainland or foreign countries to supply its grocery packing.4 For every 1 million bags shipped to
pping plastic bags instead of
5
paper bags.
retails stores, and department stores.6 This vast amount of plastic bags used only once by consumers
inevitably travel through the waste stream and eventually end up in the landfill. While 100,000 tons
of plastic is turned into energy at H-Power, 25,000 tons ends up in Oahu’s landfill.7
Plastic bags are lightweight and compact by design. Thus, plastic bags seem to not take up much
space in the landfill. However, plastic bags are also valued for their durability. Thus, the unburned
plastic bags and even the ash end up in the landfill stay there since plastic bags take more than 1,000
years to biodegrade.8 Eliminating plastic bags will reduce this source of trash that takes a particularly
long time to biodegrade and takes up space in our landfills. Thus, the landfill’s life will be extended.
As a result, the City will have more time to contemplate the controversy over finding new sites for
landfills. Currently, the City is considering alternatives such as shipping its solid waste or expanding
the H-Power plant because WGSL is set to close in May 2008.9 In addition, the City may use the
money saved from maintaining its landfills and developing new landfill sites to other needs like street
and sewage improvements, park repairs and maintenance, or hiring more police. Currently, the city
“owes its creditors $3 billion, or $3,000 for every man, woman and child on this island.”10 Any cost
saving measure will lessen the burdens on the City to manage its obligations.
Promote a Healthier Environment. The proposed bill will promote a healthier environment by
reducing litter. The unburned plastic bags in the landfills easily become airborne and end up littering
the streets, oceans, and private property. Counties expend a lot of money cleaning up this litter. For
instance, Maui pays an independent contractor about $180,000 a year to collect plastic bags found
around a landfill in the Pu`unene area.11 The WGSL employs trash collectors who walk around the
landfill specifically to collect fly away plastic.12 WGSL would save money and resources by
eliminating the need for these duties. In addition, fines will be generated for violations of the
proposed ban. The City may then reallocate money saved and money generated from fines to other
needs. The fines will also serve to encourage environmental awareness.
Eliminating plastic bags will also reduce the amount of harmful emissions released in the atmosphere
resulting from Honolulu’s H-Power waste-to-energy operations.13 The smoke emitted from burning
plastic emits carcinogens and toxins that are harmful to the environment.14 Without plastic bags in
the MSW mix burned at H-Power, the amount of harmful toxins emitted will be reduced. The result
will be healthier air breathed by
communities.
A ban on plastic bags raises public awareness on plastic’s effect on the environment. By totally
eliminating its use, a ban on plastic bags will represent a strong statement against the effects of
plastic on the environment. Consumers will be forced to plan ahead to bring their reusable bags to
the market or purchase reusable bags on a daily basis. This will serve as a constant reminder for
consumers to remember the environment. As a result, consumer culture may be influenced by this
constant act of caring for the environment. This will ultimately serve the ENV’s goal to promote a
healthier environment.
In April 2007, San Francisco became
the first U.S. city to legislate a similar ban on plastic bags in stores with retail sales of $250,000 or
more.15 Similar measures are also being considered in other cities such as Boston, Massachusetts;
Baltimore, Maryland; Oakland, California; Portland, Oregon; Santa Monica, California; and
Steamboat Springs, Colorado.16
dedicated to protecting
the environment by implementing this bold ban on plastic bags.
Possible Amendments. First, to lessen the possible impact due to the phased-in ban, the bill should
be rewritten to specify a phase-in schedule. Currently, the bill mandates “no requirement as to how
stores and retailers phase out the non-biodegradable plastic shopping bags.” Instead, the bill requires
only that retailers comply by the year 2010. As a result, retailers may avoid phasing out the use of
plastic bags until the last minute and simply throw their excess inventory of plastic bags in the
garbage. This will frustrate the purpose of the ban. The City will end up dealing with the inventory.
The huge volume of bags will be either burned, emitting vast amounts of toxins and carcinogens, or
end up in the landfill, ocean, and on trees.
In addition, the bill should clearly define the “use” of plastic bags to be banned. Definition (b)(1)
defines “store” to mean a “retail establishment that provides customers with plastic bags as a result of
a sale”. However, such definition does not directly define the type of use banned, but merely defines
who is affected by the ban. This vagueness may result in too extensive or too limited a ban. For
instance, a ban on the use of thin plastic bags for wet and perishable produce or plastic food
wrappings for food sold in stores will raise sanitation, health, and food quality issues. These plastic
items contribute to the plastic pro
plastic items may be subject to ban. However, surely the ban to serve public health and the
environment did not intend to set off other health concerns. If the proposition targets plastic products
in retail stores, it must further specify the type of use the ban intends to reach.
2
Thank you for considering my comments on the proposed legislation.
1
Department of Environmental Services, City and County of Honolulu, available at:
http://www.honolulu.gov/env/index.htm.
2
Department of Environmental Services, City and County of Honolulu, available at:
http://envhonolulu.org/solid_waste/index.html
3
Id.
4
Id.
5
Telephone Interview with Jeff Nakamoto, D
2007).
6
Id.
7
Richard C. Botti,
, 14 (Aug. 2007).
8
Ian Urbina, Pressure Builds to Ban Plastic Bags in Stores, The N.Y. Times, July 24, 2007, available at
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/us/24plastic.html?ex=1342929600&en=b00211e238911098&ei=5088&partner=rssn
yt&emc=rss.
9
Jim Hodge, Exporting solid waste is part of Oahu’s solution, Star Bulletin, June 7, 2007.
10
Mufi Hanneman, City expenses grow even with a no-frills budget, Star Bulletin, January 12, 2006.
11
Christie Wilson, Maui May Ban Plastic Shopping Bags, Honolulu Advertiser, July 27, 2007, available at
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Jul/27/ln/hawaii707270359.html.
12
Interview with Russell Nanog, Community Affairs Manager, Waimanalo Gulch Landfill, (Oct. 5, 2007).
13
Charlie Goodyear, S.F. First City To Ban Plastic Shopping Bags, S.F. Chron., Mar. 28, 2007, at A1, available at
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/28/MNGDROT5QN1.DTL.
14
Eric Prideaux, Plastic incineration rise draws ire, November 3, 2007, available at:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20071103f2.html
15
Maui News, 30 July, 2007, available at: http://mauinews.com/story.aspx?id=32732.
16
Urbina, supra.
3