HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 766 Draft 01 2006-2008COUNTY OF HAWAII
STATE OF HAWAII
RESOLUTION NO. ~~~ d8
A RESOLUTION URGING THE HAWAII STATE LEGISLATURE TO ENACT
LEGISLATION THAT WILL SHIFT THE COSTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR
WASTE MANAGEMENT FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO THE
MANUFACTURERS OF PRODUCTS AND THAT WILL CREATE INCENTIVES FOR
PRODUCT REDESIGN.
WHEREAS, manufactured products and packaging constitute a large percentage of
waste materials handled in Hawaii County and eventually deposited at County landfills; and
WHEREAS, there are significant environmental and human health impacts associated
with products that contain toxic ingredients, which include mercury, lead, cadmium, and other
toxic chemicals that when disposed of improperly can contaminate soil and water supplies; and
WHEREAS, when products aze designed to contain hazardous chemicals and aze then
uniformly banned from municipal landfills by the State, the burden to manage these items at the
end of their useful life falls to local jurisdictions in the form of specialized waste collection and
public outreach programs; and
WHEREAS, throughout Hawaii, there is a prevalent need for an environmental policy
approach called "Extended Producer Responsibility", in which producers assume responsibility -
financial and/or physical -for the management of products at the end of their useful life, so that
those who produce and sell products bear the costs of recycling and proper disposal; and
WHEREAS, the State's approach to legislating responsibility for end-of--life
management of individual product types has been piecemeal and does not provide producers
with incentives to design their products with recycling, reduced toxicity, and take-back in mind;
and
WHEREAS, an "Extended Producer Responsibility Framework Approach" is a
comprehensive environmental policy that establishes requirements and guidelines for the
development of collection processes funded by product manufacturers that provide convenient
and sustainable opportunities for recycling or disposal by the public; and
WHEREAS, this "Extended Producer Responsibility Framework Approach" has been
applied in California, with municipalities such as San Francisco calling for the shift in costs and
responsibilities away from local governments toward the manufacturers of products; now,
therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII, that it
urges the State Legislature to enact legislation that will shift waste management costs and
responsibilities from local government to the manufacturers of the products, and that will give
producers the incentive to redesign products to make them less toxic and wasteful, more durable
and repairable, and easier to reuse, recycle, and compost.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall forward a copy of this
resolution to the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and Affordable Housing Committee,
the House Consumer Protection and Commerce Committee, the Senate Energy and Environment
Committee, and the House Energy and Energy Protection Committee.
Dated at Kona , Hawaii, this 7th day of November , 2008.
INTRODUCED ]B~Y~:~~ ~
~nZS I'~`TU/
COUNCI MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII
COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawaii
Hilo, Hawaii .
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by
the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the
County ofHawai`ion NOVember 7, 2008
ATTEST:
COt~N~CLE~RI{ CHAIRMAN & SIDING FFICER
..~-~
ROLL
AYES NOES ABS EX
FORD 7{
RIGA g
HOFFMANN X
IKEDA X
JACOBSON X
NAEOLE g
PILAGO X
YAGONG X
YOSHIMOTO X
8 0 1 0
Reference: C-1489/EMC -19
RESOLUTION NO. ~~~ C'8
2