The bill, known as HB1645, had already passed its first reading before it went through the House’s Energy and Environmental Protection committee, as well as the Labor and Tourism committees, on Thursday. If the bill passes, hotels would be encouraged to offer customers items like shampoo, conditioner and soap in bulk dispensers.
The legislation aims to do away with plastic toiletries, which are said to contribute greatly to Hawaii’s growing problem with plastic pollution. Before the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of tourists were visiting the islands each month. These guests also contributed to garbage problems for the state, especially in hotels and resorts, where most people stay.
Lauren Blickley, the regional manager in Hawaii for the environmental organization Surfrider Foundation, said in written testimony for the bill that a single 200-room hotel can produce approximately 300,000 pieces of single-use plastic in a month.
She wrote that because of this, “laws such as HB1645 are needed to ensure that businesses commit to reducing their single-use plastic footprint. HB1645 will represent an important step towards eliminating unnecessary single-use plastics and improving the sustainability of the hospitality industry in Hawaii.”
KHON-TV in Honolulu reported that just a single hotel chain in Hawaii annually uses hundreds of millions of single-use bottles for toiletries.
Nicole Lowen, a member of the state’s House of Representatives, told KHON that Hawaii’s reputation as an environmental destination means it should lead the way with the ban.
“As a notable tourism destination here in Hawaii, we also really have an opportunity to kind of put our money where our mouth is when we talk about how important the environment is and how Hawaii wants to engage and more sustainable tourism,” Lowen told the station. She also serves as chair of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee and was one of the lawmakers responsible for introducing the bill.
House Representative Richard Onishi, chairman of the House’s Labor and Tourism Committee, told Honolulu Civil Beat that if the contents inside single-use bottles are not fully expended the bottles are not considered recyclable. They then end up in landfills.
“Eliminating these single-use bottles would benefit both situations: One, it wouldn’t go into a landfill, and two, whatever is in the bottle won’t contaminate the ground,” Onishi told the website.
Some hotel chains have taken initiative on their own to curb plastic pollution. Marriott and Hyatt have both pledged to phase out plastic bottles, while Holiday Inn is also cutting its use of plastic containers.
HB1645 still needs to pass through two more committees before it can be brought up for a vote in Hawaii’s 51-member House. If it passes, the ban on single-use plastic containers will begin January 1, 2025, for establishments with more than 50 rooms and January 1, 2027, for places with fewer than 50 rooms.
