Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Economic Development and Business Concerns, to which was referred H.B. No. 1256 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to institute a beverage container fee and deposit on all glass, aluminum, and plastic bottles or cans of a gallon or less sold for consumption in the State.

Hawaii as an island state must be careful in handling its waste stream. Recycling is an ideal choice for Hawaii as it not only keeps discarded materials out of the landfills but it also protects our natural resources. This bill would impose both a beverage container free to be paid on all recyclable beverage containers brought into the State for consumption here, and a beverage container deposit to encourage consumers to recycle the containers. The deposit law would institute a fee of not less than 5 cents for containers holding twenty-four ounces or less, and not less than 15 cents for containers over twenty-four ounces, up to one gallon.

Each business that sells the container would be required to operate a redemption center to pay out the refund to the consumers, and ensure that the containers are recycled. There are exceptions for businesses of less than 5,000 square feet, businesses that sell beverage containers only through vending machines, or that are located within one mile of a certified redemption center. A county is required to operate a redemption center if there are no alternatives within a five mile radius of a dealer.

Your Committee has amended the bill by:

(1) Clarifying the dates by which certain of the actions shall occur; (2) Clarifying that collection of containers can be done for litter control purposes; and (3) Making technical nonsubstantive changes.

Your Committees find it necessary to boost the recycling efforts in Hawaii after voluntary programs and commercial mandates failed to meet specific statutory targets. Your Committees further find that a beverage container deposit may be the next logical step to provide sufficient economic incentive to the consumer to recycle.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Energy and Environmental Protection and Economic Development and Business Concerns that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1256, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1256, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.