2021-08-25 EMC Agenda item 5-b(1) - Final-PSRWG-Report-to-Leg

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VI. Methodology Peter Adler, Ph.D. facilitated seven meetings over the course of ten months (see Appendix B). Group members attended meetings both in person and virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The group charter (Appendix C) describes the goals of the group as well as ways each member should contribute their ideas and opinions. Members participated in group exercises that exposed them to different perspectives and allowed them to share their own perspectives. Members participated in permitted interaction groups (PIGs) that provided discussion for deeper insight and expertise required for formulating proposed recommendations for the State to address plastic source reduction. These PIGs looked at how to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic in different facets of our community and explored and compared county legislation that promotes single-use plastic reduction in order to gain a better understanding of the current sentiments of the four counties (see Appendix D and Appendix E). Members of these PIGs drafted initial recommendations for the larger Working G, and all group members had the opportunity to provide comments and edits in subsequent meetings. The public also participated: all meetings were open to the public and public comments were solicited at every meeting. VII. Recommendations Per the legislative mandate, the Working Group has identified multiple ways for government, consumers, and local businesses to achieve greater statewide impacts and help accelerate the transformation to a more plastics-free Hawaii. The Working Group recognizes the complexity of social and economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the recommendations in this plan serve to diversify the economy while minimizing negative socio-environmental consequences. Some plastic source reduction measures have the opportunity to reduce costs and create new local businesses and jobs. The Working Group also recognizes that some of the included plastic source reduction recommendations can increase consumer costs and/or create new public expenses in the short term. While the strategy for recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are beyond the scope of the Act 254 Working Group tasks, this report offers a range of actions that can be incorporated at the appropriate scale and time to both achieve the long-term goal of plastics reduction andsupport economic recovery toward a sustainable and resilient future. The Working Group recommends the following in response to the seven specified tasks, andisin no particular order: 1. Create a uniform statewide plastic source reduction standard. Discussion A uniform state standard that embodies the most stringent standards of the four counties has both advantages and disadvantages but must be implemented with care and precision. On the advantage side, businesses must comply with one regulatory regime rather than four potentially different ordinances. Most enterprises and their business-to-business suppliers are accustomed to complying with various state ordinances. A uniform, statewide message (aimed at consumers) is more efficient to create and communicate, and more likely to achieve traction. The State must also have a uniform enforcement protocol, presumably lodged within a state agency. If it is to be enforced by the counties, the counties must receive a substantial portion of theirfunding from the State of Hawaii to accomplish this. 5