The Honolulu City Council has an opportunity to set an example for Oahu — and all Hawaii — by banning single-use plastic bottles at city facilities, then at city-sponsored events, in two phases over three-year periods.
Bill 59’s first draft would prohibit the sales of single-use plastic bottles, liter-sized or smaller, in two phases: At any city facility on or before Dec. 31, 2026; then at any city-authorized concession, city-sponsored or -permitted event on or by Dec. 31, 2027. Violators could face civil penalties of $100 to $1,000.
There are a few limited exemptions in the bill, including an option to re-allow single-use plastic bottles for one year or less under circumstances “where the Council finds that there are no reasonable alternatives.” The measure also, quite reasonably, allows the mayor to authorize use of single-use plastic bottles during an emergency or disaster, “for the preservation of life, health, property, safety, or essential public service.”
Bill 59, now advancing to the second of three Council hearings, clearly states the issue: “Plastics entering the environment have had a demonstrable adverse effect on the health of the people of the City and County of Honolulu, as well as the environmental integrity of our islands.”
This is true. Plastic trash is now so ubiquitous that degraded plastic particles have infiltrated people’s bloodstreams, circulating throughout our bodies. Single-use plastics are part of this refuse stream — easy to throw aside once drained, and to be blown about, ending up in Hawaii’s ditches, streams, drainage systems and in the ocean.
The American Beverage Association, which opposes this bill, has a sympathetic argument — to a point: Jobs are attached to bottle distribution. “Many of our beverages, aluminum cans and plastic bottles are manufactured and distributed in Hawaii by local workers,” the association stated, in testimony submitted to the Council. However, aluminum cans or bottles are a viable alternative to plastic, in vending machines or at events — and in fact, vendors are increasingly choosing to use them. Boxed water — in containers similar to those commonly used to package milk and wine — is another option. Plastic, though, needs to go.
The association also argues that single-use water and beverage bottles are composed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is recyclable. This is true, but there can be complications, including maintenance of food-safety standards and a limit on the number of times PET can be recycled — as well as the expense of creating recycling facilities or shipping bottles to recycling operations.
The best way to solve the problem of too much plastic is to avoid buying and using it. That’s the message Hawaii musician Jack Johnson and the Plastic Free Hawaii program he supports seeks to get out, with presentations to schools and community groups. Many schools now shun plastic bottles, instead recommending reusable flasks — which can be filled with the same tap water that’s largely used to fill those insidious plastic disposables, which harm us when discarded improperly. And Johnson’s Kokua Festival at the Waikiki Shell is completely plastic free, providing an example for other events at city-run sites.
Plastic trash threatens the environment and human health. As Bill 59 states, “[PET] bottles do not readily break down, and instead degrade into pieces and particles of all sizes, including microplastics, which can subsequently enter human bodies through the food stream.”
Since 2021, Kauai has set a fine example by prohibiting “purchase, use, or distribution of disposable plastics” by county agencies or within county facilities —
without causing the sky to fall. It’s about time Honolulu caught up with the Garden Isle and greened up its act.
