As much as everyone may hate to admit it, studies and working groups — the stock compromise and stalling tactic of lawmakers everywhere — can, at times, offer the best way forward to find solutions to difficult problems.
Such is the case with ambitious efforts to drastically reduce, if not eliminate, the amount of plastics in the waste stream, notwithstanding handicaps limiting Hawaii’s efforts to reclaim the waste through recycling.
The state’s attempt at comprehensively cracking down on a full range of plastic single-use products, from straws to plastic bags, has been given a bit of the back-burner treatment in the latest version of Senate Bill 522.
A bill that started out as a broad ban has morphed into the formation of a working group that will explore whether or how such items will be limited.
While not optimal, the working group appears to have been the most practical near-term option available, following the bill’s joint hearing before two House committees: energy and environmental protection and economic development and business. There seems to be no clear understanding yet of how best to proceed, so some focused attention on the potential impact is advisable.
The bill has overtaken a separate, more constrained measure, SB 367, in the race toward passage. In July, Hawaii island will join Maui as counties that have banned polystyrene foam food containers; SB 367 would have barred the sale of the containers, and the sale or service of food using them, statewide.
This bill has stalled in committee, a decision undoubtedly influenced by numerous restaurant owners and others who last week testified against it. Opponents said any substitute container would end up costing the businesses much more money.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Hawaii Food Industry Association came out in favor of a clear, unified statewide ban as preferable to the piecemeal restrictions enacted county by county. County agencies have given conflicting information on the ban, said Lauren Zirbel, the association’s executive director, in written testimony.
But the collective pushback from individual businesses was overwhelming.
“Our profit margins are thin,” said Christina Adolpho, general manager of Waiahole Poi Factory. “We use styrofoam containers for a few reasons, but cost efficiency is a big one.”
It’s hard not to be sympathetic, but it’s unwise to simply give in to the status quo. Polystyrene, for starters, finds its way into waterways as a chief component of litter, and its chemicals can leach into food and drinks as well as into the environment. If there is a solution, perhaps a working group investing some time in the search can unearth it.
In the meantime, businesses should actively be seeking out environment-friendly alternatives to ease the transition, which is inevitable.
The conversation, Zirbel said, already has begun.
“We are working to set up a packaging symposium with environmental groups to define packaging challenges, find solutions, and move forward together in a way that is possible to implement,” she added.
SB 522 seems to be laying the groundwork for further action. It would establish a new section in statute for “Solid Waste Prevention.” And although it would delete previous proposals for a plastics phase-out by a date-certain, it retains the working group to make recommendations.
The group would be required to consult with counties on any lessons learned in their plastic-ban ordinances, and would “consult with stakeholders to develop appropriate exemptions to address concerns of health and safety, or lack of suitable alternative products on the market.”
This makes sense, moving Hawaii toward less wasteful and polluting habits but steering clear of regrettable impacts on business. SB 522 should pass, allowing progress toward that end to begin.
