LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council last week took another step forward and is now on the verge of passing a bill that would ban the use of plastic bags at retail stores’ checkout counters. Bill No. 2321 passed out
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council last week took another step forward and is now on the verge of passing a bill that would ban the use of plastic bags at retail stores’ checkout counters.
Bill No. 2321 passed out of the council’s Public Works/Elderly Affairs Committee, chaired by bill co-author Tim Bynum, on Aug. 26, but not before undergoing a small but significant change.
At the urging of Brad Parsons and other concerned community members, an amendment to the bill was introduced — first by bill co-author Lani Kawahara before committee members realized she was an ex-officio member and not allowed to introduce amendments or vote, then picked up by Jay Furfaro and Dickie Chang — that alters the bill’s definition of “biodegradable.”
The definition of “biodegradable bag” was changed from merely being “a bag that is intended for single use and will decompose in a natural setting at a rate comparable to other biodegradable materials such as paper, leaves and food waste,” to include a pair of new, more stringent criteria.
A single-use biodegradable bag will now also be a bag that “conforms to the European Standard EN13432, which was established by the European Committee for Normalisation” and “contains no-petroleum-derived content.”
The new restriction rules out certain types of bags that, while not entirely plastic, still featured some plastic.
If passed as currently written, the bill would allow retail establishments to provide only recyclable paper bags, biodegradable bags and reusable bags as checkout bags, with fines of $100 for the first violation, $200 for the second violation within the same year, and $500 for every subsequent violation in that year.
The ordinance will not take effect until July 1 of next year, and even then, companies will be able to apply for an 18-month exemption if they show significant “undue hardship.”
Council member Derek Kawakami has recused himself from discussing or voting on the bill due to his role with Big Save supermarkets.
The bill could be on the full council agenda as soon as next week.
There is no County Council meeting today because September has five Wednesdays.
