HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 143 Draft 01 2020-2022
A RESOLUTION URGING THE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT TO ENSURE THAT DESTINATIONS TO WHICH THE COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI TRANSPORTS ITS RECYCLABLE WASTE FOR OUT-OF-STATE PROCESSING
ABIDE BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS OUTLINED BY THE BASEL CONVENTION.
WHEREAS, in 2019, the State of Hawaiʻi exported 5,250 tons of plastic, 4,250 tons of aluminum, and 16,050 tons of glass and bi-metal for recycling; and
WHEREAS, Hawaiʻi collection companies export the State's recyclable waste to various locations around the world based on factors such as transport costs, pre-existing contracts, and prevailing
prices; and
WHEREAS, in countries where much of the exported recyclable waste from Hawai‘i is sent, end-of-life processing is often conducted through procedures that harm human and environmental
health; and
WHEREAS, to help protect human and environmental health against adverse impacts from the management of hazardous and other wastes, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, commonly referred to as the Basel Convention, was adopted as a multilateral agreement through the United Nations Environmental Program
in 1989 and came into force in 1992; and
WHEREAS, the Basel Convention, of which the United States of America is a signatory, has been described as the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous wastes,
with 179 parties and 53 signatories worldwide; 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, on April 20, 2021, the Hawaiʻi State legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 27, SD1, urging the State Department of Health – Environmental Management Division to ensure
that destinations to which the Stateʻs recyclable waste is transported for out-of-state processing abide by the environmental standards as outlined by the Basel Convention (“Exhibit
A”) while simultaneously urging the counties to ensure the same; and
WHEREAS, the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management oversees waste disposal and recycling for the County; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI that the County Department of Environmental Management is urged to ensure that destinations to which the County transports its
recyclable waste for out-of-state processing abide by the environmental standards outlined by the Basel Convention.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Department of Environmental Management work in coordination with the State Department of Health – Environmental Management Division to share best
practices and approaches, and avoid overlapping or contrary initiatives while ensuring these environmental standards are met within its jurisdictions levels.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Honorable Mitchell D. Roth, Mayor; Lee E. Lord, Managing Director; and Ramzi I. Mansour,
Director of the Department of Environmental Management.
Dated at _____________, Hawai‘i, this ______ day of ___________________, 20___.
INTRODUCED BY:
_______________________________________
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I
COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawai‘i
Hilo, Hawai‘i
ROLL CALL VOTE
AYES
NOES
ABS
EX
CHUNG
DAVID
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by
the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the
County of Hawai‘i on _____________________________________.
INABA
KĀNEALI‘I-KLEINFELDER
KIERKIEWICZ
KIMBALL
ATTEST:
LEE LOY
RICHARDS
VILLEGAS
Reference:
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON & PRESIDING OFFICER
RESOLUTION NO.