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HB644
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
644
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to single-use plastics
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION
1.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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It is now estimated that 8.75 million metric
tons of plastic enter our ocean each year from land-based sources.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Not all bioplastics are designed to degrade
completely or quickly in the natural environment.
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Only fifty per cent of bioplastics are in fact
biodegradable, and many biodegradable options are fossil-fuel-based.
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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.
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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.
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Like conventional plastics, bioplastics are
produced in facilities that drive pollution and are likely to end up in
landfills and incinerators.
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Industrial
facilities, including those producing bioplastics, are likely to be developed
in underserved communities, as are most forms of waste infrastructure.
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These sites emit dangerous pollutants, reduce
overall quality of life, and pose a heightened risk of industrial accidents
like fires and explosions.
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The legislature also finds that cleaning up
plastic presents a significant cost to Hawaii taxpayers.
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The cost of increasing cleanups by government
agencies, businesses, and the general public is rising to account for expensive
management and mitigation practices.
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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.
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San Diego county, which has an equivalent population to Hawaii at
1,300,000 people, spends $14,000,000 annually cleaning up plastic.
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Alternatives to bioplastics already exist
for many take-out items.
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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.
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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
are highly toxic chemicals that are sometimes used in food packaging to make it
waterproof and greaseproof.
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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.
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People
can be exposed to PFAS by consuming contaminated food or water, using products
that contain PFAS, or breathing air that contains PFAS.
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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.
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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.
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California,
New York, Washington, Vermont, Connecticut, Colorado, and Minnesota have
already passed laws restricting the use of PFAS in food packaging.
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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.
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SECTION
2.
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Chapter 342H Hawaii Revised Statutes,
is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read
as follows:
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�342H-
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Single-use plastic food ware and beverage
service items;
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances;
prohibited.
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(a)
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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.
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(b)
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The prohibitions in subsection (a) shall not
apply to the following:
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(1)
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Reusable,
refillable containers;
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(2)
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Compostable
plastics; provided that:
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(A)
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There is regional access to a collection
program for those plastics; and
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(B)
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A local facility actively accepts, manages,
and processes the plastics; and
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(3)
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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.
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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.
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(c)
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After January 1, 2026, n
o 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.
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(d)
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Enforcement and administration of this
section
shall be under the
jurisdiction of the department.
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Any food
vendor or business violating any provision of this section, or any rule adopted
pursuant to this section shall:
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(1)
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Be
ordered to discontinue the distribution or sale of items prohibited by this section;
and
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(2)
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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.
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(e)
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For the purposes of this section:
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"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.
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"Compostable plastics" means products
that have been certified by an independent third-party organization to meet
ASTM standards D6400 and D6868.
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"Disposable" means designed to
be discarded after a single or limited number of uses and not designed or
manufactured for long-term reuse.
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"Plastic":
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(1)
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Means
a
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synthetic or semisynthetic material chemically
synthesized by the polymerization of organic substances that can be shaped into
various rigid and flexible forms;
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(2)
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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
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(3)
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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.
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"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.
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"Prepared food" means food or
beverages that are prepared to be consumed on or off the premises of a
restaurant or food establishment.
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"Regulated perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances" or "PFAS":
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(1)
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Means
a class of fluorinated organic chemicals containing at least one fully
fluorinated carbon atom; and
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(2)
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Includes:
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(A)
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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
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(B)
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The presence of PFAS in a product or product component at or
above 100 parts per million, as measured in total organic fluorine.
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"Reusable",
"refillable", "reuse", or "refill", in regard to
packaging or food service ware, means:
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(1)
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For packaging or food service ware that is
reused or refilled by a producer:
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(A)
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Explicitly
designed and marketed to be utilized multiple
times for the same product, or for another purposeful packaging use in a supply
chain;
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(B)
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Designed for durability to function properly in its original
condition for multiple uses;
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(C)
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Supported by adequate infrastructure to ensure the packaging or
food service ware can be conveniently and safely reused or refilled for
multiple cycles; and
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(D)
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Repeatedly recovered, inspected, and repaired, if necessary, and
reissued into the supply chain for reuse or refill for multiple cycles; or
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(2)
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For
packaging or food service ware that is reused or refilled by a consumer:
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(A)
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Explicitly designed and marketed to be utilized multiple times
for the same product;
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(B)
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Designed for durability to function properly in its original
condition for multiple uses; and
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(C)
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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.
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"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.
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SECTION 3.
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This Act does not affect rights and duties
that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun
before its effective date.
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SECTION 4.
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New statutory material is underscored.
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SECTION 5.
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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.