LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council recently opted to keep a discussion on the plastic-bag ban in public instead of going behind closed doors. The Office of the County Attorney on Sept. 29 asked for an executive session to discuss
LIHU‘E — The Kaua‘i County Council recently opted to keep a discussion on the plastic-bag ban in public instead of going behind closed doors.
The Office of the County Attorney on Sept. 29 asked for an executive session to discuss the intent of Ordinance 885 — set to go into effect Jan. 11 at retail stores island-wide — and the possibility of a bio-plastic bag being used as a substitute.
But Councilman Jay Furfaro requested the matter remain in the open and a majority of his colleagues agreed.
Councilman Tim Bynum has requested the administration’s presence to discuss the plastic bag reduction ordinance at the council meeting this Wednesday in Nawiliwili. The agenda also includes two items related to Councilman Derek Kawakami’s written disclosure of a possible conflict of interest because of his employment position and family involvement in a retail establishment.
The county has scheduled three public information meetings to discuss the draft rules of the ordinance. Those meetings will be from 10 to 11 a.m., Oct. 25, Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, in Meeting Room 2 at the Mo‘ikeha Building.
After extensive research from the Office of the County Attorney, council members and private citizens, no one was able to find a bio-plastic bag that is 100 percent biodegradable and contains no fossil fuels in its composition as the new law will require.
North Shore resident Brad Parsons found two companies, one in Brazil and another on the Mainland, which claim to produce 100 percent biodegradable plastic. But neither produces bags yet.
“In the future, if there’s a bag that has no petroleum and meets the compostable standard, you can use it,” Bynum said.
Council members Dickie Chang, Lani Kawahara, Bynum and Furfaro voted for the bill; Councilmen Darryl Kaneshiro and Kaipo Asing voted against it.
Kawakami recused himself.
When Ordinance 885 goes into effect in three months, retailers will be prohibited from giving plastic bags to consumers at the checkout line.
“The purpose of this legislation is to encourage customers to bring reusable bags when shopping,” the ordinance states.
Bynum, who alongside Kawahara authored the bill, said retailers still have “plenty of time” to buy paper bags and have them shipped here.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. signed the bill into law Oct. 12, 2009, giving retailers 15 months to prepare for the ban.
The bill will affect supermarkets, pharmacies, liquor stores, mini-marts and retails stores. Basically, any vendor selling clothes, food or personal items will have to find an alternative for plastic bags.
Nonprofits are exempted from the ban, and so are some sections of grocery stores, one of the largest distributors of plastic bags.
“Checkout bags does not include bags provided solely for produce, bulk food, or meat at a produce, bulk food or meat department within a grocery store, supermarket, produce or meat market or other similar retail establishment,” the ordinance states.
Retailers will be allowed to use paper bags which contain no old-growth fiber, are 100 percent recyclable and are at least 40 percent made from post-consumer recycled content. Those bags will have to display the words “reusable” and “recyclable.”
Retailers may not be allowed to distribute plastic bags at checkout stands, but nothing in the ordinance prohibits them from selling reusable bags.
Bynum said even before he introduced the bill he started bringing reusable bags to grocery stores as a way of leading by example. He said it took him some time to adjust, noting that he reached the checkout line several times only to realize he left the reusable bags in his car. Before he finally was able to make it a habit to bring bags into the store, he ended up buying about 30 bags, he said.
If retailers are found in violation of the law, they could face civil penalties of $250 per day for the first offense. If they are caught violating the law again within one year after the first offense, the fines escalate to $500 per day. A third violation within one year will bring the fines to $1,000 per day.
Visit www.kauai.gov for more information.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
