LIHU‘E – For practically every item a customer purchased at a Wailua retailer’s checkout stand Thursday, she received a plastic bag. There was one for her greeting card, one for her milk and one for her shampoo. Then the checker
LIHU‘E – For practically every item a customer purchased at a Wailua retailer’s checkout stand Thursday, she received a plastic bag.
There was one for her greeting card, one for her milk and one for her shampoo. Then the checker gathered all of the items and placed them into yet another plastic shopping bag along with a box of cereal.
“It doesn’t bother me,” the woman said of the number of plastic bags. “I use them to pick up poop when I walk my dogs.”
Next week, she will have to find another way to manage animal waste.
Kaua‘i’s Plastic Bag Reduction and Prohibition Law goes into effect Tuesday, forcing all for-profit businesses to end distribution of all plastic checkout bags to customers.
Some businesses, like Big Save supermarkets, ran out of supplies of plastic bags last week and had already made the switch to paper. Others, like Safeway, Longs and Foodland, had supplies of paper bags at the ready but were still primarily using plastic.
Walmart will not be offering paper sacks, only reusable shopping bags for 25 cents each. They plan to ship their leftover supply of plastic bags to O‘ahu where there is no plastic bag ban.
The intent of the new law — introduced by Kaua‘i County Councilman Tim Bynum and former Councilwoman Lani Kawahara and adopted by Kaua‘i County Council members in October 2009 — is to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags when shopping.
“It’s a win, win, win,” Bynum said. “A big part of it is the landfill, the roadside garbage and the marine environment, and all of the many bags that end up in the ocean. Its time has come.”
The new law prohibits the distribution of plastic “checkout” bags, meaning bags provided by retailers at checkout stands, cash registers, and points of sale or points of departure, that are used for transporting food and merchandise.
Retailers may provide customers with “recyclable paper bags,” narrowly defined as sacks that contain no old growth fiber, are 100 percent recyclable, contain a minimum of 40 percent post-consumer recycled content, and display the words “reusable” and “recyclable” in a highly visible manner on the outside of the bag.
In developing the bill, the council consulted with Zero Waste Kaua‘i and other environmental groups, which advised them not to permit cornstarch-based biodegradable plastic bags because fossil fuels are required for their production.
Large chain grocers and chain restaurants say the paper bags that meet the ordinance requirements are much more expensive than plastic, but none who were interviewed could provide an exact price.
Marlene Reyes, manager of Taco Bell, said the paper sacks they will use are double the cost of plastic and those costs will have to be passed along to customers.
A supervisor at Safeway concurred about the cost and added that it takes three shipping crates of paper bags to equal one crate of plastic.
Allison Fraley, county Solid Waste programs manager, is promoting the idea that bags are a courtesy item that retailers are not required to provide.
Tourists seem less than enthused about the concept.
Martin de Bergerac of Houston, Texas, said he loves visiting Kaua‘i but is disappointed about the plastic bag law.
“Are there not recycling plants to effectively deal with plastic bags? I feel this decision really should be reevaluated for the benefit of the numerous visitors who support day-to-day life on Kaua‘i.”
Bynum said he believes tourists will support the island’s efforts to reduce waste and anticipates the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau will help get the word out.
Kaua‘i’s three Outrigger Hotels have already taken a proactive approach by providing guests with Eco Tote bags. They began distributing large totes with their Outrigger logo two years ago as part of the hotels’ efforts to “go green.” As an added benefit, it provides far-reaching advertising when customers take the sacks home.
Randy Francisco, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said he will be busy in the coming weeks making sure businesses are informed about appropriate bags and the new requirements.
“In fact, one vendor I bought a pastry from bought all these bags thinking he was compliant and then found out he wasn’t because the bag didn’t say ‘recycle’ on it,” Francisco said. “We want to work together to educate and communicate.”
He also heard a customer complain, “I came all of the way from New York, and I have to provide my own bag?”
“It’s about patience until everybody gets on board,” Francisco said. “I’m hoping before complaints are filed, there is a little history and understanding. I hope to develop a kit that will help businesses, an information packet for employees and a sign to place on business doors informing customers about the rules.
“It’s about helping rather hurting, helping them know what they need to do to be compliant.”
Fraley said the law will be enforced by the Kaua‘i County Recycling Office on behalf of the county engineer, and investigations will be complaint driven. Enforcement will begin immediately, she said.
“The law mandates that the Department of Public Works provide reasonable notice to a retail establishment prior to seeking an administrative fine. The county is committed to work with rather than against establishments in order to enforce the law,” she said.
Penalties are “$250 per day for the first notice of violation, $500 per day for the second notice within 365 days of the first notice, and $1,000 per day for the third and subsequent notices of violation within the 365 of the first notice,” the ordinance states.
Both Fraley and Francisco said local businesses are generally supportive of the law but have also expressed some confusion about the language of the bill and what they should be ordering from bag suppliers.
To help clarify the rules, the county has provided common questions, answers and details on its website at www.kauai.gov/bagordinance.
The California Grocers Association has backed similar bills and laws have been passed in cities throughout the state, including San Francisco, Malibu, Fairfax and Palo Alto.
Maui’s plastic bag bill goes into effect on the same day as Kaua‘i’s.
A public hearing to consider the adoption of administrative rules pertaining to the implementation of the Plastic Bag Reduction Law is scheduled for Tuesday at the Lihu‘e Civic Center in the Mo‘ikeha Building, meeting room 1, starting at 1 p.m.
Anyone interested in providing testimony on the proposed rules may do so in writing prior to the hearing. Testimony should be directed to the Department of Public Works in person or by mail: Solid Waste Division, 444 Rice St., Ste. 295, Lihu‘e 96766. Testimony can also be submitted by fax to 241-6887 or e-mail to afraley@kauai.gov.
• Plastic bags are made with crude oil, natural gas or otherpetrochemical derivatives
• Sandwich baggies were introduced in the U.S. in the 1950s, andplastic trash bags started appearing on curbsides in the late1960s
• Nearly 80 percent of plastic bags produced are used in NorthAmerica and Western Europe
• Irish have been known to call plastic bags their nationalflag, and South Africans have called them the national flower
• Americans throw away about 100 billion polyethylene plasticbags per year and only recycle 0.6 percent
Source: worldwatch.org
• The law prohibits retail distribution of plastic “checkout”bags, meaning bags provided by retailers at checkout stands, cashregisters, and points of sale or point of departure, that are usedfor transporting food and merchandise.
• It does not include bags provided solely for produce, bulk foodor meat within a grocery store, supermarket, produce or meatmarket.
• Customers can continue to use plastic bags for their purchases,but stores may not provide them.
• The law encompasses all businesses, including restaurants andfarmers market vendors.
• Nonprofit organizations, such as Kaua‘i Food Bank, may continueto use plastic bags.
• Retailers may provide customers with paper bags that are clearlydesignated as recyclable and reusable.
