STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2175

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 2559

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2010

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Energy and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 2559 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to require retailers in the State to distribute only recyclable, reusable, or biodegradable checkout bags.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by two organizations and forty-seven individuals.  Two organizations and three individuals support the intent.  One organization submitted comments.  Testimony in opposition was submitted by one state agency, three organizations, and one individual.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Worldwide production of single use plastic grocery bags is estimated to be over five hundred billion each year.  Most end up in landfills where they can last for a thousand years.  Except for those bags that are recycled and the approximately five per cent that are burned in garbage-to-energy plants each year, the remaining plastic bags that have ever been made are still in the environment.  Plastic bags kill an estimated one hundred thousand marine animals each year.  Your Committee finds that taxpayers spend as much as seventeen cents per plastic bag to subsidize the recycling, collection, and disposal of plastic bags.  Reducing the number of plastic bags produced and used annually will protect marine and animal species, reduce costs related to waste disposal, reduce fossil fuel consumption for their production, and reduce the non-biodegradable litter cluttering our oceans and beaches. 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending the definition of "single-use plastic checkout bag" to mean a carryout bag that is provided by a store to a customer at the point of sale, which:

          (A)  Does not satisfy the definition for a "reusable bag," regardless of how many times it can be used; and

          (B)  Is not made of biodegradable plastic;

     (2)  Taking into consideration the recommendations of the Surfrider Foundation and the Hawaii Restaurant Association to also exempt stores and restaurants that sell food sold in bulk, prepared foods, and baked goods sold without packaging; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, style, and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2559, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2559, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Government Operations.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy and Environment,

____________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair