STAND. COM. REP. NO. 779

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2025

RE: H.B. No. 750

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 750, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to:

(1) Require the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products;

(2) Establish an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations;

(3) Require the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by December 31, 2028; and

(4) Appropriate funds for the needs assessment.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission; Hawaii Environmental Change Agents Solid Waste Reduction Taskforce; and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the American Forest & Paper Association and Hawaii Food Industry Association.

Your Committee finds that much of the plastic waste that is disposed of in landfills results in the release of methane and carbon dioxide. According to the most recent Inventory Report developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, United States landfills released an estimated 122,600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of methane into the atmosphere in 2021. This represents 16.9 percent of the total anthropogenic methane emissions across all sectors in the country. Your Committee further finds that materials consumption contributes directly to climate change because it requires energy to mine, extract, harvest, process, and transport raw materials and more energy to manufacture, transport, and dispose of waste products. This measure will help Hawaii address the full impact of materials on the State's communities and set out a transformative vision for its waste management system.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to include evaluating and promoting recyclable market development activities;

(2) Amending the appropriation by:

(A) Changing the means of financing from general funds to the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund;

(B) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount for only the fiscal year of 2025-2026; and

(C) Specifying when the appropriation shall lapse;

(3) Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $1,000,000.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

____________________________

SCOT Z. MATAYOSHI, Chair