Bill Text: HI HB2740 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To The Environment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-08 - The committee(s) on EEP recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HB2740 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2024-HB2740-Introduced.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2740 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to the environment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii does not have a sustainable solid waste management system. Most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which represents a linear waste stream, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to the health of the environment and to the residents of the State. Landfills discharge leachate, a contaminated and often highly toxic fluid, which has the potential for leakage that can harm groundwater, surrounding communities, and the nearshore and marine resources downslope. On Oahu, the landfill produces around nine thousand eight hundred gallons of leachate per day, where the potential for leakage of leachate threatens Oahu's drinking water supply. Waste that is incinerated can be used to produce energy, but this process still produces air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and toxic ash, as more than four hundred tons of toxic ash from H-Power are buried in the landfill every day.
A linear waste management system is characterized by a take-make-dispose model, where virgin resources are extracted and goods are produced and then discarded, leading to waste production and the depletion of resources. In a linear waste economy, taxpayers and their local government bear the costs associated with waste management. In contrast, a circular waste economy is designed to keep resources in use for as long as possible, reducing waste and promoting sustainability. A circular waste economy prioritizes waste reduction and creates a closed-loop system where producers are accountable for the cost of disposal of their products, creating market-based incentives for waste reduction and product redesign that reduce waste at the source and facilitate reuse, composting, and recycling.
A zero-waste initiative in Hawaii would elevate these circular waste economy principles and put them at the center of the State's waste management strategies. It would redirect state agencies tasked with overseeing solid waste management to prioritize source reduction, reuse, refill, organic waste diversion, and the improvement of recycling services for waste that cannot be avoided or reused.
The adoption of a zero-waste initiative would lead the shift away from the linear waste system and toward a circular waste economy that is more sustainable, will create green jobs, and will reduce costs for waste management that are currently borne by taxpayers. It would also address environmental and public health concerns posed by Hawaii's overflowing landfills.
Extended producer responsibility is an essential component of a circular waste economy, as it places shared responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, onto the producers of the product. This encourages more sustainable product design that leads to less waste and more reusable and fully recyclable products.
Extended producer responsibility programs can exist for almost any product type. There are existing programs in other jurisdictions that cover a range of products including carpets, large appliances, e-waste, packaging waste, prescription drugs, batteries, paint, pesticides, tires, photovoltaic panels, used motor oil, and mattresses. Under these programs, producers are responsible for ensuring that services are available to reclaim and recycle products when they reach the end of their useful life. Countless tons of waste and virgin resources are avoided when these programs are implemented. Additionally, extended producer responsibility programs for packaging waste exist in Canada and Europe and in recent years have been adopted in California, Colorado, Maine, and Oregon and proposed in many other state legislatures.
The goal of this Act is to lay the foundation for the creation of a sustainable future for Hawaii and its residents by reducing waste, minimizing resource inputs, and promoting a closed-loop system through reuse and recycling that will benefit the environment and the economy.
Specifically, the purpose of this Act is to establish the Hawaii zero waste initiative within the department of health with the goal of zero waste deposited in landfills or incinerated.
SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"Chapter
hawaii zero waste initiative
§ -1 Hawaii zero waste initiative; established. (a) There is established within the department of health a Hawaii zero waste initiative with the goal of sending zero waste to the landfill or to incineration.
(b) Under the Hawaii zero waste initiative, the department of health shall:
(1) Facilitate a transition from a linear waste economy to a circular waste economy;
(2) Establish policies and programs that reduce waste and consumption and maximize reuse, refill, composting, and recycling;
(3) Seek to reduce the amount of toxic and hazardous waste that is imported into the State and poses a risk to air quality, water quality, and groundwater resources and otherwise creates dangerous pollution when used or disposed of;
(4) Where feasible, seek market-based solutions that internalize the external costs to producers that have been borne by taxpayers in the past, beginning with considering programs for products that have successful extended producer responsibility programs in other jurisdictions, including but not limited to carpets, large appliances, electronic waste, packaging waste, prescription drugs, batteries, paint, pesticides, tires, photovoltaic panels, used motor oil, and mattresses;
(5) Seek to learn from policies implemented in other jurisdictions, while also considering the State's unique needs and the needs of each county;
(6) Work with other state agencies, counties, and the private sector to implement the Hawaii zero waste initiative;
(7) Conduct public outreach and education statewide about the Hawaii zero waste initiative; and
(8) Provide an annual report to the legislature on the progress and implementation of the Hawaii zero waste initiative.
(c) The department of health shall establish rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement the purposes of this chapter."
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Hawaii Zero Waste Initiative; Department of Health; Solid Waste
Description:
Establishes the Hawaii zero waste initiative to manage the State's transition to a zero solid waste economy.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
