HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-24 EMC testimony - (01-23) Navarra, Jennifer - Agenda V.4From:Sur, Peter
To:Sur, Peter
Subject:FW: EMC-Testimony V.4.
Date:Tuesday, January 23, 2024 10:23:25 AM
From: Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island <zwhi@zerowastehi.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2024 10:05 AM
To: Sur, Peter <Peter.Sur@hawaiicounty.gov>
Subject: Re: EMC-Testimony V.4.
V.4.
Chair Adams and members of the Environmental Management Commission,
I wanted to take the opportunity to update the Commission on some of the work and history of state
level policy that has been introduced to address packaging waste. For the last three years I have
been coordinating an Extended Producer Responsibility working group. In 2022, a policy very similar
to SB1458 was introduced by Rep Lowen. The bill was very successful but ultimately died during
conference committee. Last year there were two EPR bills introduced, SB1458 and HB1326. HB1326
made it through the house and died in the Senate not getting a hearing in WAM. SB1458 died in the
same position waiting for a hearing in WAM.
Although I personally like the idea of SB 1458, having done interviews with national policy experts on
EPR, national trade groups, and county and state representatives, I do not feel we would ever be
able to pass this type of program which is attacked by opposition as being a tax and not a “real EPR
program”. These attacks are not entirely inaccurate. This bill calls for a needs assessment, and
requires collection of a fee based on packaging waste which would be passed to the counties to
implement reuse pilot programs for packaging. Some EPR policy experts feel that a bill like this
would significantly sell us short; siting problems with having a sunset (fees only collected for a 5 year
period) for the program, and only collecting fees from very large producers of fast moving consumer
goods.
HB1326 essentially took a step back, understanding that there are a lot of details to be figured out
for an EPR program. This bill allowed for a needs assessment to be done and called for the creation
of an Advisory Council that would advise DOH on the development of an EPR program, the original
version of the bill allowed DOH to implement the program without going back to the legislature. This
bill was also too big a stretch and the bill received a lot of opposition from producer trade groups.
Some of the concerns were not being able to exactly know how the EPR program would end up.
This year the EPR working group transitioned from being advocate dominated, as it was in the past,
to being dominated by representation from the Department of Health, county waste management
staff, County Council members, and state and house representatives, and advisors from the Product
Stewardship Institute which is an organization that works on EPR legislation for many different types
of products. For this upcoming legislative session, the working group developed an EPR needs
assessment bill for packaging, in hopes that there will be more success in passing a simpler bill.
Rep. Lowen, who has been our EPR legislative champion and chairs the house committee on Energy
and Environmental Protection, advised that introducing a bill with a full EPR program does not have
enough support currently in the legislature. Needs assessments are done generally as part of
implementing an EPR program, but in some states where there has not been enough political will to
pass an EPR program, some states have been successful in passing needs assessment or study bills
first.
This year, two very similar EPR Needs Assessment bills are being
introduced, HB1688 and SB2368, which requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide
needs assessment to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with
less waste generation, more reuse, and an extended producer responsibility program for packaging
materials and paper products. The bill requires DOH to consult with relevant stakeholders (county
departments responsible for waste management; producer responsibility organizations, or non-
profits established to administer producer responsibility programs; producers of packaging materials
and paper products; refuse and recycling collection and processing service providers; compost
facility operators; retailers, including restaurants, wholesalers, and distributors; and organizations
and community groups involved with waste management and waste reduction).
The bill details what the needs assessment shall consider (see attached bills for full description)
which includes baseline studies of the current waste stream, evaluation of current packaging and
paper products management, recycling markets, and future infrastructure and costs needed to
reduce waste through reusable packaging systems and local processing of materials.
Unlike past years, the bill received input from representatives of local and national trade
associations and feasible adjustments to the legislation were made based on their feedback. As a
result, this bill may receive less opposition from trade association this year.
Mahalo for your service on the Commission.
Jennifer Navarra
Program Director
Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island
Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island is a fiscally sponsored project of Inquiring Systems, Inc.
EIN: 94-2524840
HOUSEOFREPRESENTATIVESTHIRTY-SECONDLEGISLATURE,2024H.B.NO.STATEOFHAWAIIABILLFORANACTRELATINGTOTHEENVIRONMENT.BEITENACTEDBYTHELEGISLATUREOFTHESTATEOFHAWAII:ISECTION1.Thelegislaturefindsthat,undercurrent2practices,solidwastemaysoonexceedourlandfillcapacityin3alltheState’scounties.TheStatemust,wherefeasible,4reducewasteproductionandconserveresourcesbygenerating5lesswaste,reusingandrefillingpackagingmaterials,diverting6organicmaterials,andrecycling.Additionalresources,7facilities,andserviceswillbeneededtoachieveresource8conservationandwastereductiontargetsandsavethecounties9someofthecoststheyarecurrentlybearingforwaste10management.AlthoughmostpackagingwasteinHawaiiishandled11inalinearmannerwhereitisusedanddisposedofaftera12singleuse,theStateneedsamorecircularsystemwhere13resourcesarereusedandnotwasted.14Thelegislaturefurtherfindsthatseveralotherstates15haveadoptedorareconsideringlegislationtorequireproducers16ofpackagingtotakeonsomeoftheresponsibilityandbearsome2024—0406HEHMSOIIIIIII’IIIIiII;II1lIiIIllI[IIIIilIIIIIIII
H.B.NO.Iofthecostsofreducingandmanagingpackagingmaterialsand2paperproducts.3Stateandcountygovernments,packagingproducers,andthe4communityneedtoworktogetherwithstakeholderstoreducethe5amountofwasteproducedinHawaiiandensurethatservicesare6availabletoreclaimandrecycleproductswhentheyreachthe7endoftheirusefullife.8ThepurposeofthisActistorequireandappropriatefunds9forthedepartmentofhealthtoconductastatewideneeds10assessment,withcounty,packagingproducer,andstakeholder11input,todeterminewhatwouldbeneededtotransitiontoamore12circularsystemwithlesswastegeneration,morereuse,andthe13necessaryinfrastructuretosortandlocallyprocessrecyclable14materialsthroughanextendedproducerresponsibilityprogram15forpackagingmaterialsandpaperproducts.16SECTION2.(a)Thedepartmentofhealthshallconducta17statewideneedsassessmenttodeterminewhatwillbeneededto18transitiontoamorecircularsystemwithlesswastegeneration,19morereuse,andimprovedcollectionandlocalprocessingof20materialsthroughanextendedproducerresponsibilityprogram21forpackagingmaterialsandpaperproducts.Theassessment2024—0406HEHMSO2
H.B.NO.Ishallbeconductedbythedepartmentinconsultationwiththe2followingstakeholders:3(1)Eachcountydepartmentresponsibleforwaste4management;5(2)Producerresponsibilityorganizations,ornon-profits6establishedtoadministerproducerresponsibility7programs;8(3)Producersofpackagingmaterialsandpaperproducts;9(4)Refuseandrecyclingcollectionandprocessingservice10providers;11(5)Compostfacilityoperators;12(6)Retailers,includingrestaurants,wholesalers,and13distributors;and14(7)Organizationsandcommunitygroupsinvolvedwithwaste15managementandwastereduction;16providedthatadditionalstakeholdersmaybeincludedasthe17departmentdeemsnecessaryandrelevant.18(b)Theneedsassessmentshalldetailtheresources19requiredineachcountytoreduceasmuchasfeasiblethe20packagingmaterialswasteandpaperproductsthatthecounty21sendstoalandfillorpowerplantthatburnsmunicipalsolid2024—0406HEHMSO3NINIIIIII1’
Page4H.B.NO./c-1waste.Additionally,theneedsassessmentshallconsiderthe2following:3(1)Wasteandrecyclingcharacterizations,including4baselinestudiesofwhatisinthewastestream,what5isbeingrecycled,whatisbeingcomposted,andhow6thesevaryacrosslocaljurisdictions;7(2)Existingcollectioninfrastructure,including:8(A)Whatmaterialsarebeingcollectedandthe9processesandproceduresforcollection;10(B)Whocurrentlyhasaccesstorefuse,recycling,11andcompostingcollectionservices;12(C)Howcollectionservicesarearrangedandfunded;13and14(D)Improvementsinservicesneeded;15(3)Processingandmaterialsrecoveryfacility16infrastructure,including:17(A)Howcollectedmaterialsarecurrentlybeing18processedandmarketed;19(B)Whetherthesortingtechnologyisup-to-date;20(C)Whetherthereissufficientcapacitytoprocess21thevolumeofmaterials;2024—0406HBHMSO4IHIINI
H.B.NO.1(D)Opportunitiesandinfrastructureneededformore2localprocessingofmaterials;and3(E)Coststoimplementinfrastructureimprovements;4(4)Markets,includingthestateofmarketsforrecovered5materialsandfinishedcompost;6(5)Education,includingtheeffectivenessoftheexisting7outreachineducatingresidents;8(6)Levelsofcontaminationincollectedpackaging9materialsandorganicsforcomposting;10(7)Theimpactcompositionofpackagingmaterialshason11thereuse,recyclability,andcompostabilityof12packagingmaterials;13(8)Anevaluationofhowextendedproducerresponsibility14programlawsaredesignedandworkinginotherstates15andcountries;16(9)Anevaluationofanappropriatedefinitionof17“producer”foranextendedproducerresponsibility18programinHawaii;19(10)Equityandenvironmentaljustice,including:2024—0406RBHMSOIIIIIHIIIDIIlll
Page6H.B.NO./c1(A)Considerationforhowtheexistingsystemis2operatingandhowextendedproducer3responsibilitycouldincreaseequity;and4(B)Anassessmentofequityissuesineducation5efforts;6(11)Economicimpact,includingestimatesinjob7developmentfromincreasedreuse,recycling,and8composting;9(12)Environmentalbenefitsfromreductionandreuseand10localversusoff—islandmaterialsprocessing;11(13)Howextendedproducerresponsibilitycanpromote12upstreamimprovementsuchassourcereduction,13packagingredesignandoptimization,reductionof14packagingmaterialsthatareharmfultohumanhealth15ortheenvironment,andreuseandrefillpractices,16including:17(A)Identifyingopportunitiesforsourcereduction,18reuse,andrefillinpackagingsystems;and19(B)Costandinfrastructureneedstoimplementthese20systems;and2024—0406RBHMSO6IhIIII1I11IiIII1iIIiIIIIIIIIIIIIIi1IiIII
H.B.1(14)Suggesteddiversiontargetsandtimelineusing2baselinedatafromtheneedsassessmenttodetermine3theresources,infrastructure,educationalprogram,4andotherinitiativesneededtoreachconservative,5moderate,andaggressivewastereductiongoal6scenarios.7(c)Thedepartmentofhealthshallcompleteandsubmitthe8needsassessment,includinganyproposedlegislation,tothe9legislaturebyDecember31,2026.10(d)F’orthepurposesofthissection:11“Packagingmaterials”includesmaterialsusedforthe12containment,protection,orservingofproducts,includingbut13notlimitedtopaper,paperboard,cardboard,plastics,glassor14metaloramixturethereof.“Packagingmaterials”excludes15beveragecontainersincludedundertheHawaiidepositbeverage16containerprogram.17“Paperproducts”includesprintedmaterialssuchasoffice18paper,magazines,newspaper,andjunkmail.“Paperproducts”19doesnotincludeotherliterary,text,andreferencebound20books.2024-0406HBHMSO7IiijIIIIlIIII]IIIIII’Il1IiII[IikH
Page8I“Producer”meansanentitythatsellspackagingmaterials2intothemarketandcanincludeabrandowner,licensee,or3firstimporter.4“Refill”meansemployingpackagingmaterialsthatthe5consumerskeepandreusemultipletimesinsteadofthrowingit6awayafteroneuse.7“Reuse”meansthereturnofpackagingmaterialstothe8economicstreamforuseinthesamekindofapplicationintended9fortheoriginalpackagingwithoutchangingtheoriginal10compositionofthepackage,theidentityoftheproduct,orthe11componentsthereof.12SECTION3.Thereisappropriatedoutofthegeneral13revenuesoftheStateofHawaiithesumof$orso14muchthereofasmaybenecessaryforfiscalyear2024—2025for15thedepartmentofhealthtoconductastatewideneedsassessment16toinformthefutureestablishmentofanextendedproducer17responsibilityprogrampursuanttosection2ofthisAct.18Thesumappropriatedshallbeexpendedbythedepartmentof19healthforthepurposesofthisAct.20SECTION4.Inaccordancewithsection9ofarticleVIIof21theHawaiiStateConstitutionandsections37-91and37-93,2024—0406RBRMSOBIiINI[1II[I‘IIH11I
H.B.NO.i1HawaiiRevisedStatutes,thelegislaturehasdeterminedthatthe2appropriationscontainedinH.B.No.,willcausethestate3generalfundexpenditureceilingforfiscalyear2024—2025tobe4exceededby$orpercent.Inaddition,the5appropriationcontainedinthisActwillcausethegeneralfund6expenditureceilingforfiscalyear2024-2025tobefurther7exceededby$orpercent.Thecombinedtotal8amountofgeneralfundappropriationsconrainedinonlythese9twoActswillcausethestategeneralfundexpenditureceiling10forfiscalyear2024—2025tobeexceededby11$orpercent.Thereasonsforexceedingthe12generalfundexpenditureceilingarethat:13(1)TheappropriationmadeinthisActisnecessaryto14servethepublicinterest;and15(2)TheappropriationmadeinthisActmeetstheneeds16addressedbythisAct.17SECTION5.ThisActshalltakeeffectonJuly1,2024.18INTRODUCEDBY(’)U4—-.e6:eQ%,IE—%..JAN1720242024—0406HBHMSO9IIHiIUHiI
H.B.NO.-‘-ReportTitle:PackagingWaste;NeedsAssessment;ExtendedProducerResponsibilityProgram;DepartmentofHealth;Appropriation;ExpenditureCeilingDescription:RequirestheDepartmentofHealthtoconductastatewideneedsassessmenttodeterminewhatwouldbeneededtotransitiontoamorecircularsystemwithlesswastegeneration,morereuse,andanextendedproducerresponsibilityprogramforpackagingmaterialsandpaperproducts.Appropriatesfunds.Thesummarydescriptionoflegislationappearingonthispageisforinformationalpurposesonlyandisnotlegislationorevidenceoflegislativeintent.2024—0406HBHMSO1iIi
THE SENATE
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII JAN 19
S.B. NO. 2^%/^
2024
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the State is
committed to reducing waste and conserving resources through
advancing source reduction, reuse, and recycling. However,
additional resources, facilities, and services are needed to
achieve resource conversation and waste reduction targets.
The legislature further finds that other states have
adopted legislation to require producers of packaging and
single-use products to take on the responsibility of ensuring
that services are available to reclaim and recycle products when
they reach the end of their useful life. While the producers of
packaging and single-use products sold and distributed in the
State must take responsibility for managing those materials,
there is a need to engage and consult with existing recycling
system stakeholders to better understand the impact that such
legislation would have on the existing waste and recycling
infrastructure. Furthermore, assessing the possible adoption of
producer responsibility legislation for packaging and single-use
2024-0125 SB HMSO
Page 2 S.B. NO.
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products could further advance the State's resource and
conservation objectives.
The purpose of this Act is to require and appropriate funds
for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs
assessment to inform the future establishment of an extended
producer responsibility program for packaging waste.
SECTION 2. (a) The department of health shall conduct a
statewide needs assessment to inform the future establishment of
an extended producer responsibility program for packaging waste.
The assessment shall be conducted in collaboration with the
following stakeholders:
(1) Each county department responsible for waste
management;
(2) Recycling service providers;
(3) Packaging and single-use product producers;
(4) Retailers;
(5) Haulers; and
(6) Organizations and community groups involved with waste
management and waste reduction;
provided that additional stakeholders may be included as deemed
necessary and relevant.
2024-0125 SB HMSO
Page 3 S.B. NO.
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(b) The needs assessment shall detail the resources needed
to reduce each respective county's packaging waste that the
county sends to a landfill or power plan that burns municipal
solid waste as fuel. Additionally, the needs assessment shall
consider the following:
(1) Waste and recycling characterizations, including:
(A) Baseline studies of what is in the waste stream,
what is being recycled, and how these vary across
local jurisdictions; and
(B) Whether an extended producer responsibility
program in the State should address a broader
waste stream than just packaging waste;
(2) Existing collection infrastructure, including:
(A) What materials are being collected and the
processes and procedures for collection;
(B) How collection services are arranged and funded;
and
(C) Improvements in services to meet existing basic
standards;
(3) Processing and materials recovery facility
infrastructure, including:
2024-0125 SB HMSO
Page 4 S.B. NO. 2%^
1 (A)How collected materials are currently being
processed and marketed;
(B)Whether the sorting technology is up-to-date; and
Whether there is sufficient capacity;
Markets, including the state of markets for recovered
materials;
(5)Education, including the effectiveness of the existing
outreach in educating residents;
Levels of contamination in collected materials;
10 An evaluation of how extended producer responsibility
11 program laws are designed and working in other states
12 and countries;
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13 Equity and environmental justice, including
14 (A)Consideration for how the existing system is
15 operating and how extended producer
16 responsibility could improve this; and
17 An assessment of equity issues in education
18 efforts;
19 Economic impact, including estimates in job
20 development from increased recycling;
21 (10)Environmental benefits from increased recycling; and
2024-0125 SB HMSO 4
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(11) How extended producer responsibility can promote
upstream improvement such as source reduction, reuse,
and refill practices.
(c) The department of health shall complete and submit the
needs assessment, including any proposed legislation, to the
legislature by December 31, 2024.
(d) For the purposes of this section, "packaging waste"
means the part of solid waste that consists of packaging and
packaging material, including plastic food containers; liquid
containers made of plastic, glass, aluminum, or steel; flexible
plastic containers; plastic film; cardboard; paperboard; and
paper.
SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general
revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2024-2025 for
the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment
to inform the future establishment of an extended producer
responsibility program pursuant to section 2 of this Act.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of
health for the purposes of this Act.
2024-0125 SB HMSO 5
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SECTION 4. In accordance with section 9 of article VII of
the Hawaii State Constitution and sections 37-91 and 37-93,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the
appropriations contained in H.B. No. , will cause the state
general fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024-2025 to be
exceeded by $ or per cent. In addition, the
appropriation contained in this Act will cause the general fund
expenditure ceiling for fiscal year 2024-2025 to be further
exceeded by $ or per cent. The combined total
amount of general fund appropriations contained in only these
two Acts will cause the state general fund expenditure ceiling
for fiscal year 2024-2025 to be exceeded by
$ or per cent. The reasons for exceeding the
general fund expenditure ceiling are that:
(1) The appropriation made in this Act is necessary to
serve the public interest; and
(2) The appropriation made in this Act meets the needs
addressed by this Act.
2024-0125 SB HMSO
Page 7 S.B. NO. 736^
1 SECTION 5.
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This Act shall take effect on July>l. 2024
INTRODUCED BY:'
2024-0125 SB HMSOiviliiniiiiiiiiiii 7
S.B. NO. 736^
Report Title:
Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Extended Producer
Responsibility Program; Department of Health; Appropriation;
Expenditure Ceiling
Description:
Requires the department of health to conduct a statewide needs
assessment to inform the future establishment of an extended
producer responsibility program for packaging waste.
Appropriates funds.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
2024-0125 SB HMSO