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V OI it COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII �j�Ci•wip BILL NO. nr, ORDINANCE NO. (Draft 2) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 20,HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION,AS AMENDED) BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 5 PERTAINING TO PLASTIC BAG REDUCTION. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Findings and purpose. The production and use of plastic bags have significant impacts on the environment, including: contributing to unsightly litter; contributing to injuries and potential death of marine and pasture animals through ingestion and entanglement; and requiring the use of millions of barrels of crude oil for their manufacture when there is a limited supply of that natural resource. The council finds that to preserve the health, safety, welfare, and scenic and natural beauty of the County of Hawaii,the use of plastic bags must be regulated. The Hawaii County general plan's Environmental Quality Element 4.3 specifies the following policies for the County: "(a) Positive action to further maintain the quality of the environment. (b) Reinforce and strengthen established standards where it is necessary,principally by initiating, recommending,and adopting ordinances pertaining to the control of pollutants that affect the environment.... (d) Encourage the concept of recycling agricultural, industrial, and municipal waste material." The council recognizes the need to proactively address the universally recognized environmental harm resulting from the proliferation of plastic bags. The purpose of this article is to reduce the use of plastic bags and to encourage the use of environmentally preferable alternatives, such as reusable bags. While the best outcome to this regulatory plan would be to encourage consumers to routinely b.y.o.b. (bring your own reusable bag),this bill takes a more limited approach by initially only prohibiting plastic bags that are harmful to other species when they become entangled in the bags or accidentally ingest the bags. The current bill addresses only plastic shopping bags which are distributed to customers as checkout bags, and not other plastic bags which are used for garbage, greenwaste,'etc. SECTION 2. Chapter 20, Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended),is amended by adding a new article 5,to read as follows: "Article 5. Plastic Bag Reduction. Section 20-50. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to reduce the use of plastic bags and to encourage se of environmentally preferable alternatives, such as reusable bags.