Lawmakers in one Hawai'i community are weighing their options regarding a plastics ban that could reshape the region's restaurant industry.
As the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported, Hawaii County officials will soon discuss the future of Bill 83, an ordinance that would ban disposable polystyrene food containers and plastic serviceware. The bill is an effort to align with other jurisdictions in the state by controlling the sale and use of single-use plastic products by food service providers and county-run facilities.
In addition to the ban, businesses would also be required to use plastic alternatives certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute or the Compost Manufacturing Alliance. However, the single-use plastic products can still be provided to customers upon request or when supplied in a self-service station.
Introduced by Hawaii County Council members Rebecca Villegas and Heather Kimball, Bill 83 will be the subject of a discussion when the Policy Committee on Environmental and Natural Resource Management reconvenes on Tuesday.
Despite the health benefits of outlawing products such as polystyrene, one of the concerns expected to be raised again is how a ban would affect events meant to support the community. Hawaii County Council member Dennis Onishi pointed to youth sports fundraisers.
"My concern is about … youth athletic activities like tournaments," Onishi said. "… Are they going to be affected by this? So, when they [are] making money to sell hot dogs, chili plates, or whatever, is this going to affect them?"
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Council member Michelle Galimba said that concern was accounted for in creating the bill.
"This is not the plastic police coming down at your picnic at the beach with your family, and you will not be getting fined for using plastics with your family," Galimba said. "This bill will not go into effect for a year, and on top of that, if your particular business cannot find packaging that works within that year, you could come in and ask for an undue hardship exemption that would last for 180 days."
Another way to look at it, along those lines, is to imagine if the world had not had these polystyrene products in existence until now. Would we approve their use as a new product if we knew their health and environmental hazards and a group with business interests were pushing to get them approved? Or do we only consider the merits of keeping them un-banned because we are used to them and it's a temporary inconvenience to get them out of the supply chain?
Single-use plastics are a major contributor to the growing amount of plastic pollution. Once discarded, plastics go to landfills or end up as litter in the environment. This damages ecosystems by introducing toxins and spreading microplastics, which can contaminate soil and waterways or be ingested by wildlife. Microplastics also pose a great risk by entering the food chain, eventually affecting human health.
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