HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2718

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to environmental protection.

 

 

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

 


SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that polystyrene foam represents one of the most common forms of litter pollution in Hawaii.  The consumption of polystyrene foam containers in Hawaii, none of which are recycled, is the highest per capita in the United States.  Polystyrene foam is ultra-light, which allows it to easily escape collection systems and accumulate on land and in waterways where it quickly aggregates and fragments to form a highly visible and toxic litter stream.  Polystyrene foam fragments leach styrene, a known carcinogen, and other toxins that then poison the local food chain.  This poisoned food chain impacts all species including birds, whales, turtles, seals, and the fish that form the foundation of the local fishing industry.  Polystyrene foam pollution also defaces Hawaii's iconic landscapes, which serve as the basis for the tourism industry.

     The legislature further finds that the cost to the State and counties to clean polystyrene foam and other plastics from storm drains, waterways, marine ecosystems, and other aggregation points is well documented and increasingly burdensome.  A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council showed that California taxpayers are shouldering a cost of $428,000,000 per year to prevent litter, including plastics like polystyrene foam, from becoming harmful pollution.  For a city in California with a population size comparable to that of Hawaii's, such as San Diego, the cost is over $14,000,000 per year in taxpayer money.  In 2016, following the continued flooding due to litter in Hawaii's storm drains, the department of transportation released a trash plan indicating that a prohibition on the sale of polystyrene foam service ware and packaging would result in a ten per cent reduction of the total cleanup costs of litter in the State under the department of transportation's highway division alone.  This translates into millions of dollars in savings to the Hawaii taxpayer. 

     The legislature further finds that certain counties across the State have begun to ban polystyrene.  However, the tax dollars of residents in those counties still go to the state executive branch departments and agencies that are tasked with certain polystyrene cleanup duties.

     The purpose of this Act is to protect:

     (1)  Hawaii taxpayers from paying additional cleanup costs;

     (2)  Residents of counties which have prohibited the sale of polystyrene from paying additional taxes to clean up polystyrene litter in counties which it has not been prohibited; and

     (3)  Hawaii's environment,

by authorizing state executive branch departments and agencies to collect information regarding the amount of moneys expended by each department or agency per county for the disposal of polystyrene and then collect reimbursement from counties for such expenditures.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part    .  Polystyrene cleanup.

     §27-A  Definitions.  As used in this part, unless the context otherwise requires:

     "County" means the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui and the city and county of Honolulu.

     "Department or agency" means a state executive branch department or agency, or the judiciary.

     "Polystyrene" means a thermoplastic petrochemical material utilizing a styrene monomer, including all polystyrene, meaning any styrene or vinyl chloride polymer that is blown into a foam-like material.  Polystyrene includes materials created from techniques including the fusion of polymer spheres (expandable bead polystyrene), injection molding, foam molding, and extrusion-blow molding (extruded foam polystyrene).

     "Polystyrene product" means a product that is made using polystyrene material.

     §27-B  Polystyrene clean up.  (a)  The department of accounting and general services shall maintain a database detailing the amount of moneys expended in each county for the disposal of polystyrene products which may be reported by each department or agency that incurs costs for collecting or disposing of polystyrene products.

     (b)  Beginning on January 1, 2020, each department or agency that incurs costs for collecting or disposing of polystyrene products may submit an application, using a form to be prepared by the department of accounting and general services, to the department of accounting and general services to collect reimbursement from the applicable counties for expenditures made within the county to clean up and dispose of polystyrene products.  The reimbursement amount shall be determined using the data collected pursuant to subsection (a).  The department shall notify each county of the total amount owed to reimburse all departments and agencies for the clean up and disposal of polystyrene products by the departments and agencies.  The respective counties shall submit the amount owed to the department of budget and finance for deposit into the general fund.

     (c)  The department of accounting and general services shall submit a report of the data and reimbursements collected pursuant to this section to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session."

     SECTION 3.  In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Polystyrene Products; Clean Up and Disposal; Counties

 

Description:

Requires the Department of Accounting and General Services to maintain a database of the cost to state departments and agencies of cleaning up and disposing of polystyrene products in each county.  Beginning in 2020, requires each county to reimburse the general fund for costs to the State of cleaning up and disposing of polystyrene products in the county.

 

 

 

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