Bill Text: HI HB644 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating To Single-use Plastics.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-21 - Referred to EEP, CPC, FIN, referral sheet 2 [HB644 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2025-HB644-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	644
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to single-use plastics.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the local and global impact of the world's increasing waste stream is unsustainable and detrimental to the future of Hawaii's economy, the environmental integrity of our islands, and the health of the people.  There has been an exponential rise in single-use food ware items over the past few decades globally, with particularly high increases in plastics and bioplastics.  Single-use disposable food ware items, including cups, lids, and single-use food containers, are major contributors to street and beach litter, ocean pollution, and marine and other wildlife harm.

     A significant portion of marine debris, estimated to be eighty per cent, originates on land, primarily as escaped refuse and litter, much of it plastic, via urban runoff.  It is now estimated that 8.75 million metric tons of plastic enter our ocean each year from land-based sources.

     These land-based plastics degrade into pieces and particles of all sizes, including microplastics, and are present in the world's oceans at all trophic levels.  Among other hazards, plastic debris attract and concentrate ambient pollutants like heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants in seawater and freshwater, which can transfer to fish and other seafood that are eventually caught and sold for human consumption.

     The need for significant change in Hawaii was underscored in 2020, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency found that several of the State's beaches are impaired by trash, with the majority of the pollutants composed of single-use plastics.  Although countries, states, and cities around the world have banned some single-use plastics, the plastic pollution problem persists with the rise of certain bioplastics.

     Not all bioplastics are designed to degrade completely or quickly in the natural environment.  Only fifty per cent of bioplastics are in fact biodegradable, and many biodegradable options are fossil-fuel-based.  While bio-based plastics like polylactic acid and conventional plastics with enhanced degradation are commonly touted as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics, these products will often only break down and meet compostable requirements when sent to an industrial composting facility.  Outside of the controlled conditions of a waste management facility, biodegradable plastics can have some of the same impacts as conventional plastics, including breaking down into small, problematic pieces while also releasing greenhouse gases.

     Like conventional plastics, bioplastics are produced in facilities that drive pollution and are likely to end up in landfills and incinerators.  Industrial facilities, including those producing bioplastics, are likely to be developed in underserved communities, as are most forms of waste infrastructure.  These sites emit dangerous pollutants, reduce overall quality of life, and pose a heightened risk of industrial accidents like fires and explosions.

     The legislature also finds that cleaning up plastic presents a significant cost to Hawaii taxpayers.  The cost of increasing cleanups by government agencies, businesses, and the general public is rising to account for expensive management and mitigation practices.  A study of over ninety counties in California concluded that taxpayers are paying $428,000,000 per year to clean up plastic through storm drain management, street sweeping, and marine cleanups.  San Diego county, which has an equivalent population to Hawaii at 1,300,000 people, spends $14,000,000 annually cleaning up plastic.

     Alternatives to bioplastics already exist for many take-out items.  Zero waste plastic reduction plans are moving forward all over the world, including within the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and municipalities across the United States.

     Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are highly toxic chemicals that are sometimes used in food packaging to make it waterproof and greaseproof.  PFAS are highly persistent and are sometimes called "forever chemicals," are highly mobile and can migrate into food, are water soluble, and can contaminate groundwater and the environment.  People can be exposed to PFAS by consuming contaminated food or water, using products that contain PFAS, or breathing air that contains PFAS.  PFAS have been linked to higher cancer risk, including kidney and testicular cancer, weaker immune response, lower birth weight, hormone disruption, liver and kidney toxicity, and reproductive and developmental toxicity.  The United States Food and Drug Administration has ended the sales of grease-proofing materials containing PFAS sold by manufacturers for use in food contact packaging, a positive step forward towards reevaluating chemicals authorized for use with, and in food, and the protection of consumers from potentially harmful food-contact chemicals.  California, New York, Washington, Vermont, Connecticut, Colorado, and Minnesota have already passed laws restricting the use of PFAS in food packaging.

     The purpose of this Act is to establish a prohibition on the purchase, use, sale, and distribution of disposable or single-use non-compostable plastic food ware and beverage service items and single-use food ware and beverage service items containing PFAS by various entities that would begin on January 1, 2026.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 342H Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§342H-     Single-use plastic food ware and beverage service items; perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances; prohibited.  (a)  After January 1, 2026, no business where food or beverages that are packaged and sold on the business' premises for individual consumption shall use, sell, or distribute disposable or single-use plastic food ware, beverage cups, lids, or other food containers.

     (b)  The prohibitions in subsection (a) shall not apply to the following:

     (1)  Reusable, refillable containers;

     (2)  Compostable plastics; provided that:

          (A)  There is regional access to a collection program for those plastics; and

          (B)  A local facility actively accepts, manages, and processes the plastics; and

     (3)  Packaging in any situation deemed by a county to be an emergency requiring immediate action for the preservation of life, health, property, safety, or essential public services.  This exemption shall be in place until the emergency has ceased or the governor has determined that the exemption is no longer applicable to the situation.

     (c)  After January 1, 2026, no business where food or beverages that are packaged and sold on the business' premises for individual consumption shall use, sell, or distribute disposable or single-use food ware, beverage cups, lids, or other food containers that contain regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.

     (d)  Enforcement and administration of this section shall be under the jurisdiction of the department.  Any food vendor or business violating any provision of this section, or any rule adopted pursuant to this section shall:

     (1)  Be ordered to discontinue the distribution or sale of items prohibited by this section; and

     (2)  If continuing the distribution despite the order, be subject to a fine of no less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for each day of violation.

The director may institute a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive relief to correct or abate violations of this section or any rule adopted pursuant to this section, collect administrative penalties, or obtain other relief.

     (e)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Business" means any commercial enterprise or establishment operating in the State, including an individual proprietorship, joint venture, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity, whether for profit or not for profit, and includes all employees of the business or any independent contractors associated with the business.

     "Compostable plastics" means products that have been certified by an independent third-party organization to meet ASTM standards D6400 and D6868.

     "Disposable" means designed to be discarded after a single or limited number of uses and not designed or manufactured for long-term reuse.

     "Plastic":

     (1)  Means a  synthetic or semisynthetic material chemically synthesized by the polymerization of organic substances that can be shaped into various rigid and flexible forms;

     (2)  Includes, without limitation, polyethylene terephthalate, high density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, low density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polylactic acid, and aliphatic biopolyesters, such as polyhydroxyalkanoate and polyhydroxybutyrate; and

     (3)  Does not include natural rubber, aluminum, glass, paper, bamboo, sugarcane, coconut husk, cassava, polymers such as proteins or starches or other biomass, or reusable containers.

     "Plastic food ware" means hot and cold beverage cups, cup lids, plates, bowls, bowl lids, "clamshells", trays, or other hinged or lidded containers that contain plastic.

     "Prepared food" means food or beverages that are prepared to be consumed on or off the premises of a restaurant or food establishment.

     "Regulated perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS":

     (1)  Means a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom; and

     (2)  Includes:

          (A)  PFAS that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product and that have a functional or technical effect in the product, including the PFAS components of intentionally added chemicals and PFAS that are intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product; or

          (B)  The presence of PFAS in a product or product component at or above 100 parts per million, as measured in total organic fluorine.

     "Reusable", "refillable", "reuse", or "refill", in regard to packaging or food service ware, means:

     (1)  For packaging or food service ware that is reused or refilled by a producer:

          (A)  Explicitly designed and marketed to be utilized multiple times for the same product, or for another purposeful packaging use in a supply chain;

          (B)  Designed for durability to function properly in its original condition for multiple uses;

          (C)  Supported by adequate infrastructure to ensure the packaging or food service ware can be conveniently and safely reused or refilled for multiple cycles; and

          (D)  Repeatedly recovered, inspected, and repaired, if necessary, and reissued into the supply chain for reuse or refill for multiple cycles; or

     (2)  For packaging or food service ware that is reused or refilled by a consumer:

          (A)  Explicitly designed and marketed to be utilized multiple times for the same product;

          (B)  Designed for durability to function properly in its original condition for multiple uses; and

          (C)  Supported by adequate and convenient availability of and retail infrastructure for bulk or large format packaging that may be refilled to ensure the packaging or food service ware can be conveniently and safely reused or refilled by the consumer multiple times.

     "Single-use" means conventionally disposed of after a single use or not sufficiently durable or washable to be, or not intended to be, reusable or refillable."

     SECTION 3.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

Report Title:

Disposable and Single-use Plastic Food Ware and Beverage Service Items; Prohibition; Solid Waste; Compostable Plastics; PFAS

 

Description:

After 1/1/2026, prohibits businesses where food or beverages are packaged and sold on the business' premises for individual consumption from using, selling, or distributing certain disposable or single-use food ware and beverage service items, including items containing PFAS.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.