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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
23 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, prior to China's import ban on recyclable plastics in January 2018, seventy percent of the world's plastic waste was exported to China; and
WHEREAS, since China's import ban on recyclable plastics, recyclable plastic waste shipments to Southeast Asian countries have increased exponentially; for example, exports of recycling from the United States to Thailand increased almost seven thousand percent in one year; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, Hawaii exported approximately 10,500,000 pounds of plastic, 8,500,000 pounds of aluminum, and 32,100,000 pounds of glass and bi-metal for recycling; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii collection companies choose where to send the State's recyclable waste based on factors including shipping costs, contracts, and the amount the buyer is willing to pay; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, Hawaii shipped its recyclable plastics, aluminum, glass, and bi-metal nationally to states including California, Georgia, Maryland, and Oregon, and internationally to China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea; and
WHEREAS, much of the recyclable waste that is shipped to United States destinations from Hawaii is subsequently sent overseas for end-of-life processing; and
WHEREAS, end-of-life processing for recyclable plastics and waste in many of the countries in which Hawaii's recyclable waste ultimately arrives are often handled in a manner that cause harm to human health and local environments; and
WHEREAS, in response to public outcry following the discovery in the 1980s of deposits of toxic wastes imported from abroad in Africa and other parts of the developing world, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, commonly referred to as the Basel Convention, was adopted on March 22, 1989, and entered into force in 1992; and
WHEREAS, the objective of the Basel Convention is to protect human health and the environment from the effects of hazardous wastes and other wastes; and
WHEREAS, the Basel Convention is a multilateral environmental agreement under the auspices of the United Nations Environmental Program and was created to reduce the movement of hazardous and other wastes between nations, specifically with the intent of preventing transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries; and
WHEREAS, the United States of America is a signatory to the Basel Convention but not a party; and
WHEREAS, effective January l, 2021, the Basel Convention was amended to require trade controls for all mixed plastic waste not destined for environmentally—sound recycling; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Health oversees waste disposal and recycling in the State; and
WHEREAS, each county in the State handles its respective waste processing independent of the other counties; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health's Environmental Management Division is urged to ensure that destinations to which the State's recyclable waste is transported for out-of-state processing abide by the environmental standards as outlined by the Basel Convention; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the counties are urged to ensure that destinations to which their respective county's recyclable waste is transported for out-of-state processing abide by the health and safety standards as outlined by the Basel Convention; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, and mayors of each county.
Recyclable Waste; Out-of-State Processing; Environmental Standards; Basel Convention