HB 750: DOH; Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Advisory Council; Extended Producer Responsibility Program; Appropriation

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 solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties.  Most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which places the burden for managing waste on taxpayers, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to residents and the environment.  Landfills discharge leachate, a highly toxic fluid that has the potential for leakage that can cause harm to surrounding communities and nearshore and marine environments downslope.  The Waimanalo gulch landfill on Oahu produces around nine thousand eight hundred gallons of leachate per day.  Waste that is incinerated produces air pollutants and toxic ash; this toxic ash is often buried in landfills.  On Oahu, more than four hundred tons of toxic ash are buried in the landfill every day.  The legislature finds that the State will benefit from reduced waste production by expanding alternative strategies like reuse, refill, composting, and recycling.

     The legislature further finds that extended producer responsibility is a market-based, circular economy that encourages alternative waste management strategies as well as product design innovations that lead to source reduction of waste.  Extended producer responsibility programs shift responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, from consumers or governments to producers of the product.  This encourages sustainable product design that leads to less waste and more fully recyclable or reusable products and packaging.  Extended producer responsibility programs also typically reduce the financial burden on government for waste management and lead to better recycling services for residents.  Furthermore, these programs help create local jobs by expanding collection services, local processing of waste, and reuse and refill programs.

     The legislature finds that extended producer responsibility strategies can be applied to packaging waste as well.  Packaging waste is a large part of the waste stream and includes containers for food products, cleaning products, and personal care products, as well as waste associated with shipping and transporting products.  Extended producer responsibility programs for packaging waste exist in Asia, Europe, Canada, and five states across the United States.  Furthermore, several other states are in the process of implementing programs by funding needs assessments, a necessary preliminary step to inform the development of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The purpose of this Act is to require and appropriate funds for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment and establish an advisory council with relevant stakeholders to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with less waste generation and more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  The department of health shall conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     (b)  The needs assessment shall detail the resources required in each county to reduce as much as feasible the packaging materials waste and paper products that the county sends to a landfill or power plant that burns municipal solid waste.  Additionally, the needs assessment shall consider the following:

     (1)  Waste and recycling characterizations, including baseline studies of what is in the waste stream, what is being recycled, what is being composted, and how these vary across local jurisdictions;

     (2)  Existing collection infrastructure, including:

          (A)  What materials are being collected and the processes and procedures for collection;

          (B)  Who currently has access to refuse, recycling, and composting collection services;

          (C)  How collection services are arranged and funded; and

          (D)  Improvements in services needed;

     (3)  Processing and materials recovery facility infrastructure, including:

          (A)  How collected materials are currently being processed and marketed;

          (B)  Whether the sorting technology is up to date;

          (C)  Whether there is sufficient capacity to process the volume of materials;

          (D)  Opportunities and infrastructure needed for more local processing of materials; and

          (E)  Costs to implement infrastructure improvements;

     (4)  Markets, including the state of markets for recovered materials and finished compost;

     (5)  Education, including the effectiveness of the existing outreach in educating residents;

     (6)  Levels of contamination in collected packaging materials and organics for composting;

     (7)  The impact of the composition of packaging materials on the reuse, recyclability, and compostability of packaging materials;

     (8)  An evaluation of how extended producer responsibility program laws are designed and work in other states and countries;

     (9)  An evaluation of an appropriate definition of "producer" for an extended producer responsibility program in the State;

    (10)  Equity and environmental justice, including:

          (A)  Consideration for how the existing system is operating and how extended producer responsibility could increase equity; and

          (B)  An assessment of equity issues in education efforts;

    (11)  Economic impact, including estimates in job development from increased reuse, recycling, and composting;

    (12)  Environmental benefits from reduction and reuse and local versus off-island materials processing;

    (13)  How extended producer responsibility can promote upstream improvement, such as source reduction, packaging redesign and optimization, and reduction of packaging materials that are harmful to human health or the environment, and reuse and refill practices, including:

          (A)  Identifying opportunities for source reduction, reuse, and refill in packaging systems; and

          (B)  Cost and infrastructure needs to implement these systems; and

    (14)  Suggested diversion targets and timeline using baseline data from the needs assessment to determine the resources, infrastructure, educational program, and other initiatives needed to reach conservative, moderate, and aggressive waste reduction goal scenarios.

     (c)  The department of health shall conduct the assessment in consultation with the following stakeholders:

     (1)  Each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  Global and national producer responsibility organizations, including producer responsibility organizations actively working on reusable packaging systems;

     (3)  Producers of packaging materials and paper products;

     (4)  Refuse and recycling collection and processing service providers;

     (5)  Compost facility operators;

     (6)  Retailers, including restaurants, wholesalers, and distributors;

     (7)  Organizations and community groups involved with waste management and waste reduction; and

     (8)  Environmental and human health scientists;

provided that additional stakeholders may be included as the department deems necessary and relevant.

     (d)  The department of health may contract for professional services to conduct the needs assessment.

     (e)  The department of health shall convene an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  The advisory council shall include:

     (1)  One representative from each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  One representative from a national producer or producer trade association;

     (3)  One representative from a Hawaii-based producer or producer association;

     (4)  Two representatives who are experts or operators of reuse, refill, or circular economy systems;

     (5)  One representative from a Hawaii-based refuse service provider;

     (6)  One representative from a Hawaii-based recycling collection and processing service provider;

     (7)  One representative from a Hawaii-based retailer, including restaurants, wholesalers, or distributors;

     (8)  Two representatives from Hawaii-based organizations and community groups involved with waste management or relevant environmental advocacy;

     (9)  One representative who is an environmental or human health scientist;

    (10)  One representative from a business that manufactures consumer packaged goods for sale in the State; and

    (11)  One representative from the composting industry.

     (f)  The department of health shall hold a public hearing to obtain comments on the draft needs assessment.

     (g)  The department of health shall complete and submit the needs assessment, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature by December 31, 2027.

     (h)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Packaging materials" includes materials used for the containment, protection, or serving of products, including but not limited to paper, paperboard, cardboard, plastics, glass, or metal, or a mixture of any of these materials.  "Packaging materials" excludes deposit beverage containers included under the Hawaii deposit beverage container program.

     "Paper products" includes printed materials such as office paper, magazines, newspaper, and junk mail.  "Paper products" does not include bound books.

     "Refill" means employing packaging materials that consumers reuse.

     "Reuse" means the return of or to return packaging materials to the economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended for the original packaging without changing the original composition of the package, the identity of the product, or the components thereof.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,500,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment, pursuant to section 2 of this Act, to inform the future establishment of an extended producer responsibility program; provided that:

     (1)  The moneys shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made; and

     (2)  All moneys from the appropriation unencumbered shall lapse as of the close of business on June 30, 2027, to the credit of the general fund.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

Report Title:

DOH; Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Advisory Council; Extended Producer Responsibility Program; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.  Establishes an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  Requires the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and complete and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by 12/31/2027.  Appropriates funds.  (CD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

PART I

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties.  Most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which places the burden for managing waste on taxpayers, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to residents and the environment.  Landfills discharge leachate, a highly toxic fluid that has the potential for leakage that can cause harm to surrounding communities and nearshore and marine environments downslope.  The Waimanalo gulch landfill on Oahu produces around nine thousand eight hundred gallons of leachate per day.  Waste that is incinerated produces air pollutants and toxic ash; this toxic ash is often buried in landfills.  On Oahu, more than four hundred tons of toxic ash are buried in the landfill every day.  The legislature finds that the State will benefit from reduced waste production by expanding alternative strategies like reuse, refill, composting, and recycling.

     The legislature further finds that extended producer responsibility promotes a market-based, circular economy that encourages alternative waste management strategies as well as product design innovations that lead to source reduction of waste.  Extended producer responsibility programs shift responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, from consumers or governments to producers of the product.  This encourages sustainable product design that leads to less waste and more fully recyclable or reusable products and packaging.  Extended producer responsibility programs also typically reduce the financial burden on government for waste management and lead to better recycling services for residents.  Furthermore, these programs help create local jobs by expanding collection services, local processing of waste, and reuse and refill programs.

     The legislature finds that extended producer responsibility strategies can be applied to packaging waste as well.  Packaging waste is a large part of the waste stream and includes containers for food products, cleaning products, and personal care products, as well as waste associated with shipping and transporting products.  Extended producer responsibility programs for packaging waste exist in Asia, Europe, Canada, and five states across the United States.  Furthermore, several other states are in the process of implementing programs by funding needs assessments, a necessary preliminary step to inform the development of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The purpose of this part is to:

     (1)  Clarify the authorized uses of the deposit beverage container deposit special fund to include evaluating and promoting recyclable market development activities; and

     (2)  Require and appropriate funds for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment and establish an advisory council with relevant stakeholders to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with less waste generation and more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     SECTION 2.  Section 342G-104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Moneys in the deposit beverage container deposit special fund shall be used to reimburse refund values and pay handling fees to redemption centers.  The department may also use the money to:

     (1)  Fund administrative, audit, and compliance activities associated with collection and payment of the deposits and handling fees of the deposit beverage container program;

     (2)  Conduct recycling education and demonstration projects;

     (3)  [Promote] Evaluate and promote recyclable market development activities;

     (4)  Support the handling and transportation of the deposit beverage containers to end-markets;

     (5)  Hire personnel to oversee the implementation of the deposit beverage container program, including permitting and enforcement activities; and

     (6)  Fund associated office expenses."

     SECTION 3.  (a)  The department of health shall conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     (b)  The needs assessment shall detail the resources required in each county to reduce as much as feasible the packaging materials waste and paper products that the county sends to a landfill or power plant that burns municipal solid waste.  Additionally, the needs assessment shall consider the following:

     (1)  Waste and recycling characterizations, including baseline studies of what is in the waste stream, what is being recycled, what is being composted, and how these vary across local jurisdictions;

     (2)  Existing collection infrastructure, including:

          (A)  What materials are being collected and the processes and procedures for collection;

          (B)  Who currently has access to refuse, recycling, and composting collection services;

          (C)  How collection services are arranged and funded; and

          (D)  Improvements in services needed;

     (3)  Processing and materials recovery facility infrastructure, including:

          (A)  How collected materials are currently being processed and marketed;

          (B)  Whether the sorting technology is up to date;

          (C)  Whether there is sufficient capacity to process the volume of materials;

          (D)  Opportunities and infrastructure needed for more local processing of materials; and

          (E)  Costs to implement infrastructure improvements;

     (4)  Markets, including the state of markets for recovered materials and finished compost;

     (5)  Education, including the effectiveness of the existing outreach in educating residents;

     (6)  Levels of contamination in collected packaging materials and organics for composting;

     (7)  The impact of the composition of packaging materials on the reuse, recyclability, and compostability of packaging materials;

     (8)  An evaluation of how extended producer responsibility program laws are designed and work in other states and countries;

     (9)  An evaluation of an appropriate definition of "producer" for an extended producer responsibility program in the State;

    (10)  Equity and environmental justice, including:

          (A)  Consideration of how the existing system is operating and how extended producer responsibility could increase equity; and

          (B)  An assessment of equity issues in education efforts;

    (11)  Economic impact, including estimates in job development from increased reuse, recycling, and composting;

    (12)  Environmental benefits from reduction and reuse and local versus off-island materials processing;

    (13)  How extended producer responsibility can promote upstream improvement, such as source reduction, packaging redesign and optimization, and reduction of packaging materials that are harmful to human health or the environment, and reuse and refill practices, including:

          (A)  Identifying opportunities for source reduction, reuse, and refill in packaging systems; and

          (B)  Cost and infrastructure needs to implement these systems; and

    (14)  Suggested diversion targets and timeline using baseline data from the needs assessment to determine the resources, infrastructure, educational program, and other initiatives needed to reach conservative, moderate, and aggressive waste reduction goal scenarios.

     (c)  The department of health shall conduct the assessment in consultation with the following stakeholders:

     (1)  Each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  Global and national producer responsibility organizations, including producer responsibility organizations actively working on reusable packaging systems;

     (3)  Producers of packaging materials and paper products;

     (4)  Refuse and recycling collection and processing service providers;

     (5)  Compost facility operators;

     (6)  Retailers, including restaurants, wholesalers, and distributors;

     (7)  Organizations and community groups involved with waste management and waste reduction; and

     (8)  Environmental and human health scientists;

provided that additional stakeholders may be included as the department deems necessary and relevant.

     (d)  The department of health shall convene an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  The advisory council shall include the following members selected or invited by the director of health:

     (1)  One representative from each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  One representative from a national producer or producer trade association;

     (3)  One representative from a Hawaii-based producer or producer association;

     (4)  Two representatives who are experts or operators of reuse, refill, or circular economy systems;

     (5)  One representative from a Hawaii-based refuse service provider;

     (6)  One representative from a Hawaii-based recycling collection and processing service provider;

     (7)  One representative from a Hawaii-based retailer;

     (8)  One representative from a Hawaii-based restaurant;

     (9)  One representative from a Hawaii-based wholesaler;

    (10)  One representative from a Hawaii-based distributor of food products;

    (11)  Two representatives from Hawaii-based organizations and community groups involved with waste management or relevant environmental advocacy;

    (12)  One representative who is an environmental or human health scientist;

    (13)  One representative from a business that manufactures consumer packaged goods for sale in the State; and

    (14)  One representative from the composting industry.

     (e)  The department of health shall hold a public hearing to obtain comments on the draft needs assessment.

     (f)  The department of health shall complete and submit the needs assessment, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than December 31, 2028.

     (g)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Packaging materials" includes materials used for the containment, protection, or serving of products, including but not limited to paper, paperboard, cardboard, plastics, glass, or metal, or a mixture of any of these materials.  "Packaging materials" excludes deposit beverage containers included under the Hawaii deposit beverage container program.

     "Paper products" includes printed materials such as office paper, magazines, newspaper, and junk mail.  "Paper products" does not include bound books.

     "Refill" means the employment of packaging materials that consumers reuse.

     "Reuse" means the return of or to return packaging materials to the economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended for the original packaging without changing the original composition of the package, the identity of the product, or the components thereof.

PART II

     SECTION 4.  The legislature finds that Act 151, Session Laws of Hawaii 2022 (Act 151), amended the Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act to make wholesale changes to the state electronic waste recycling program.  The purpose of Act 151 included, among other things, expanding the definition of "electronic waste" to cover more electronic devices, establishing manufacturer recycling goals, and requiring manufacturers to pay for convenient recycling options for consumers.

     However, the changes made through Act 151 have been slow to increase the number of electronic waste collection sites and make recycling electronic waste more convenient for residents of the State.  In addition, in the implementation of Act 151, manufacturers have struggled to comply with all new requirements, especially due to increased weight targets and increased penalties for failing to meet the electronic device collection requirements.  Weight targets have been particularly problematic since the weights of electronic devices have decreased over time, and for that reason, many other states and localities have moved away from using weight requirements.

     The legislature further finds that incentivizing more permanent electronic waste recycling sites and events and adding certain legacy and peripheral devices to the law will expand recycling access and increase convenience to the general public.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this part is to amend the Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act by:

     (1)  Allowing manufacturers to coordinate activities directly related to the recycling of covered electronic devices;

     (2)  Expanding the scope of covered electronic devices to include electronic device peripherals and certain legacy devices; and

     (3)  Requiring manufacturers to provide free collection service locations for residents of every zip code containing twenty-five thousand or more residents, one on-site collection service location on the island of Molokai, and at least four collection events annually on the county of Hawaii outside of Kona and Hilo.

     SECTION 5.  Chapter 339D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IV to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§339D-    Manufacturer coordination.  A manufacturer, a group of manufacturers, or a coordinating body acting in accordance with this part may negotiate, enter into contracts with, collaborate, coordinate, or otherwise conduct business with each other and with any other entity developing, implementing, operating, participating in, or performing any other activities directly related to a plan to recycle covered electronic devices approved pursuant to this part.  The manufacturer, group of manufacturers, and any entity developing, implementing, operating, participating in, or performing any other activities related to a plan to recycle covered electronic devices approved pursuant to this part shall not be subject to damages, liability, or scrutiny under federal antitrust law or chapter 480, regardless of the effects of their actions on competition.  The supervisory activities described in this part are sufficient to confirm that activities of the manufacturers, a group of manufacturers, and any entity developing, implementing, operating, participating in, or performing any other activities related to a manufacturer plan to recycle covered electronic devices that is approved are authorized and actively supervised by the State."

     SECTION 6.  Section 339D-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.  By amending the definitions of "brand" and "collector" to read:

     ""Brand" means a symbol, word, or mark that identifies [an] a covered electronic device, rather than any of its components.

     "Collector" means a person that accepts covered electronic devices for reuse or delivers the devices to a recycler for the purposes of this chapter."

     2.  By amending the definition of "electronic device" to read:

     "["Electronic] "Covered electronic device":

     (1)  Means:

          (A)  A computer, computer printer, computer monitor, facsimile machine, videocassette recorder, portable digital music player that has memory capability and is battery powered, digital video disc player, digital video disc recorder, router designed for household use, modem designed for household use, or portable computer with a screen size greater than four inches measured diagonally; [and]

          (B)  Any device that is capable of receiving broadcast, cable, or satellite signals and displaying television or video programing, including any direct view or projection television with a viewable screen of nine inches or larger with display technology based on cathode ray tube, plasma, liquid crystal, digital light processing, liquid crystal on silicon, silicon crystal reflective display, light emitting diode, or similar technology; and

          (C)  Electronic device peripherals, including:

              (i)  A keyboard, mouse, or other device sold exclusively for external use with a covered electronic device as a wireless or corded device that provides input into, or output from, a covered electronic device;

             (ii)  Cords used with a covered electronic device or other electronic device peripheral;

            (iii)  Power supplies and adapters designed to support a covered electronic device;

             (iv)  Speakers used with a computer or television and television sound bars; and

              (v)  Video game consoles; and

     (2)  Shall not include:

          (A)  [An] A covered electronic device that is a part of a motor vehicle or any component part of a motor vehicle assembled by or for a motor vehicle manufacturer or franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor vehicle;

          (B)  [An] A covered electronic device that is functionally or physically required as a part of a larger piece of equipment designed and intended for use in an industrial, commercial, or medical setting, including diagnostic, monitoring, or control equipment;

          (C)  [An] A covered electronic device that is contained within a clothes washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer, microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room air conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier;

          (D)  A telephone of any type including a mobile telephone; or

          (E)  A global positioning system."

     3.  By amending the definition of "manufacturer" to read:

     ""Manufacturer":

     (1)  Means any person:

          (A)  Who manufactures or manufactured covered electronic devices under a brand that it owns or owned or is or was licensed to use, other than a license to manufacture covered electronic devices for delivery exclusively to or at the order of the licensor;

          (B)  Who sells or sold covered electronic devices manufactured by others under a brand that the seller owns or owned or is or was licensed to use, other than a license to manufacture covered electronic devices for delivery exclusively to or at the order of the licensor;

          (C)  Who manufactures or manufactured covered electronic devices without affixing a brand;

          (D)  Who manufactures or manufactured covered electronic devices to which it affixes or affixed a brand that it neither owns or owned nor is or was licensed to use; or

          (E)  For whose account covered electronic devices manufactured outside the United States are or were imported into the United States; provided that if at the time those covered electronic devices are or were imported into the United States and another person has registered as the manufacturer of the brand of the covered electronic devices, this subparagraph shall not apply; and

     (2)  Shall not include persons [who]:

          (A)  Who sold fewer than one hundred covered electronic devices in the State during the previous calendar year[.];

          (B)  With a license to manufacture covered electronic devices for delivery exclusively to or at the order of the licensor; or

          (C)  Who manufacture only electronic device peripherals and no other covered electronic devices."

     4.  By amending the definitions of "recycler", "recycling", "retailer", and "reuse" to read:

     ""Recycler" means any person who engages in the recycling of covered electronic devices for the purposes of this chapter.

     "Recycling" means processing, including disassembling, dismantling, or shredding, covered electronic devices or their components to recover a useable product.

     "Retailer" means any person who offers covered electronic devices for sale, other than for resale by the purchaser, through any means, including sales outlets, catalogs, or the Internet.

     "Reuse" means any operation by which [an] a covered electronic device changes ownership and is used for the same purpose for which it was originally purchased."

     SECTION 7.  Section 339D-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§339D-23  Manufacturer responsibility.  (a)  Beginning January 1, 2023, a manufacturer shall recycle or arrange for the recycling or reuse of any covered electronic device sold in the State.  Manufacturers shall fully fund their recycling plan, including the collection, transportation, and recycling of all covered electronic devices in the State.

     (b)  By September 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, each manufacturer shall submit a plan to the department to establish, conduct, and manage a program for the recycling of covered electronic devices sold in the State, which shall be subject to the following conditions:

     (1)  The plan shall not permit the charging of a fee at the point of collection if the covered electronic device is brought by the covered electronic device owner to a central location for recycling; provided that the plan may include a reasonable transportation fee if the manufacturer or manufacturer's agent removes the covered electronic device from the owner's premises at the owner's request and if the removal is not in conjunction with delivery of a new covered electronic device to the owner;

     (2)  The plan shall include a description of the methods for the convenient collection of covered electronic devices at no cost to the owner, except as provided in paragraph (1).  The recycling plan shall provide for collection services of covered electronic devices in each county and zip code tabulation area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, with a population greater than twenty-five thousand.  The recycling plan shall include at least one of the following:

          (A)  Staffed drop-off sites;

          (B)  Alternative collection services, including on-site pick-up services; or

          (C)  Collection events held at an easily accessible, central location;

     (3)  The plan shall provide collection services at a minimum of once per month;

     (4)  The plan shall not contain only a mail-back option;

     (5)  The plan shall specify the use of only collectors registered with the State pursuant to section 339D-28; and

     (6)  The plan shall specify the use of recyclers that have achieved and maintained third-party accredited certification from the Responsible Recycling Standard for Electronics Recyclers (R2), Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment (e-Stewards), or an internationally accredited third-party environmental management standard for the safe and responsible handling of covered electronic devices.

     (c)  The department shall review each manufacturer's plan and, within sixty days of receipt of the plan, determine whether the plan complies with this part.  If the plan is approved, the department shall notify the manufacturer or group of manufacturers.  If the plan is rejected, the department shall notify the manufacturer or group of manufacturers and provide the reasons for the plan's rejection.  Within thirty days after receipt of the department's rejection, the manufacturer or group of manufacturers may revise and resubmit the plan to the department for approval.

     (d)  Each manufacturer may develop its own recycling plan or may collaborate with other manufacturers[; provided that the plan is implemented and fully operational by January 1, 2023].  Manufacturers who collaborate on plans designed to comply with the requirements in section 339D-23.1(f) may coordinate recycling plans in any program year.

     (e)  The obligations under this chapter for a manufacturer that manufactures or manufactured covered electronic devices, or who sells or sold covered electronic devices manufactured by others, under a brand that was previously used by a different person in the manufacture of covered electronic devices, shall extend to all covered electronic devices bearing that brand."

     SECTION 8.  Section 339D-23.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§339D-23.1[]]  Manufacturer recycling goals.  (a)  The department shall use the best available information to establish the weight of all covered electronic devices sold in the State, including the reports submitted pursuant to section 339D-23.3, state and national sales data, and other reliable commercially available, supplemental sources of information.

     (b)  No later than October 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the department shall notify each manufacturer of its recycling obligation pursuant to subsection (c).

     (c)  Each manufacturer shall collect and recycle covered electronic devices according to the following:

     (1)  Beginning January 1, 2023, the equivalent of fifty per cent, by weight, of the manufacturer's covered electronic devices sold in the State two years prior, unless amended by rule pursuant to chapter 91;

     (2)  Beginning January 1, 2024, the equivalent of sixty per cent, by weight, of the manufacturer's covered electronic devices sold in the State two years prior, unless amended by rule pursuant to chapter 91; and

     (3)  Beginning January 1, 2025, the equivalent of seventy per cent, by weight, of the manufacturer's covered electronic devices sold in the State two years prior, unless amended by rule pursuant to chapter 91.

     (d)  A manufacturer may collect any covered electronic device to meet its recycling goal.

     (e)  A manufacturer may consider reused covered electronic devices toward achieving its recycling goals.

     (f)  A manufacturer shall be considered to have satisfied the recycling obligations under subsection (c) if the manufacturer meets the requirements of section 339D-23(b)(2) by providing:

     (1)  On-site collection service locations for recycling at no cost in each county and zip code tabulation area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, with a population greater than twenty-five thousand;

     (2)  One on-site collection service location on the island of Molokai; and

     (3)  Four or more collection events in the county of Hawaii outside of Kona and Hilo.

     (g)  A manufacturer may collaborate to provide collection locations under subsection (f) collectively through a coordinating body designated by manufacturers for this purpose or as an individual manufacturer; provided that:

     (1)  If actual collection for a manufacturer under this section differs from the manufacturer-specific recycling goals established by the department, a coordinating body may use the proportional obligations reflected in those department-calculated goals to reconcile each participating manufacturer's obligation; and

     (2)  A manufacturer choosing to collaborate to provide collection locations under subsection (f) collectively, pursuant to this subsection, shall disclose to the department its intent to do so and specify the designated coordinating body in its annual plan to be submitted pursuant to section 339D-23(b)."

     SECTION 9.  Sections 339D-7.5, 339D-8, 339D-9, 339D-10, 339D-12, 339D-21, 339D-22, 339D-23.2, 339D-23.3, 339D-24, 339D‑25, 339D-26, 339D-27, 339D-28, 339D-29, and 339D-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, are amended by substituting the phrase "covered electronic device", or similar term, wherever the phrase "electronic device", or similar term, appears, as the context requires.

PART III

     SECTION 10.  In accordance with section 9 of article VII, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii and sections 37-91 and 37 93, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the legislature has determined that the appropriations contained in this Act will cause the deposit beverage container deposit special fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal years 2025-2026, 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 to be exceeded by $3,000,000 or 4.2 per cent.  The reasons for exceeding the deposit beverage container deposit special fund expenditure ceiling are that the appropriations made in this Act are necessary to serve the public interest and to meet the needs provided for by this Act.

     SECTION 11.  There is appropriated out of the deposit beverage container deposit special fund the sum of $3,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment pursuant to section 3 of this Act, to inform the future establishment of an extended producer responsibility program; provided that:

     (1)  The moneys shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made; and

     (2)  All moneys from the appropriation unencumbered shall lapse as of the close of business on June 30, 2029, to the credit of the deposit beverage container deposit special fund.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 12.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 13.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

DOH; Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund; Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Advisory Council; Extended Producer Responsibility Program; Covered Electronic Devices; Collection; Recycling; Manufacturers; Appropriation; Expenditure Ceiling

Description:

Amends the authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund.  Requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an Extended Producer Responsibility Program for packaging materials and paper products.  Establishes an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  Requires the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and complete and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by 12/31/2028.  Allows manufacturers to coordinate activities directly related to the recycling of covered electronic devices.  Expands the scope of covered electronic devices to include electronic device peripherals and certain legacy devices.  Requires manufacturers to provide free collection service locations and collection events.  Appropriates funds out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund.  Declares that the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund expenditure ceiling is exceeded.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (SD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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 solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties.  Most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which places the burden for managing waste on taxpayers, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to residents and the environment.  Landfills discharge leachate, a highly toxic fluid that has the potential for leakage that can cause harm to surrounding communities and nearshore and marine environments downslope.  The Waimanalo gulch landfill on Oahu produces around nine thousand eight hundred gallons of leachate per day.  Waste that is incinerated produces air pollutants and toxic ash; this toxic ash is often buried in landfills.  On Oahu, more than four hundred tons of toxic ash are buried in the landfill every day.  The legislature finds that the State will benefit from reduced waste production by expanding alternative strategies like reuse, refill, composting, and recycling.

     The legislature further finds that extended producer responsibility is a market-based, circular economy that encourages alternative waste management strategies as well as product design innovations that lead to source reduction of waste.  Extended producer responsibility programs shift responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, from consumers or governments to producers of the product.  This encourages sustainable product design that leads to less waste and more fully recyclable or reusable products and packaging.  Extended producer responsibility programs also typically reduce the financial burden on government for waste management and lead to better recycling services for residents.  Furthermore, these programs help create local jobs by expanding collection services, local processing of waste, and reuse and refill programs.

     The legislature finds that extended producer responsibility strategies can be applied to packaging waste as well.  Packaging waste is a large part of the waste stream and includes containers for food products, cleaning products, and personal care products, as well as waste associated with shipping and transporting products.  Extended producer responsibility programs for packaging waste exist in Asia, Europe, Canada, and five states across the United States.  Furthermore, several other states are in the process of implementing programs by funding needs assessments, a necessary preliminary step to inform the development of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Clarify the authorized uses of the deposit beverage container deposit special fund to include evaluating and promoting recyclable market development activities; and

     (2)  Require and appropriate funds for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment and establish an advisory council with relevant stakeholders to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with less waste generation and more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     SECTION 2.  Section 342G-104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  Moneys in the deposit beverage container deposit special fund shall be used to reimburse refund values and pay handling fees to redemption centers.  The department may also use the money to:

     (1)  Fund administrative, audit, and compliance activities associated with collection and payment of the deposits and handling fees of the deposit beverage container program;

     (2)  Conduct recycling education and demonstration projects;

     (3)  [Promote] Evaluate and promote recyclable market development activities;

     (4)  Support the handling and transportation of the deposit beverage containers to end-markets;

     (5)  Hire personnel to oversee the implementation of the deposit beverage container program, including permitting and enforcement activities; and

     (6)  Fund associated office expenses."

     SECTION 3.  (a)  The department of health shall conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     (b)  The needs assessment shall detail the resources required in each county to reduce as much as feasible the packaging materials waste and paper products that the county sends to a landfill or power plant that burns municipal solid waste.  Additionally, the needs assessment shall consider the following:

     (1)  Waste and recycling characterizations, including baseline studies of what is in the waste stream, what is being recycled, what is being composted, and how these vary across local jurisdictions;

     (2)  Existing collection infrastructure, including:

          (A)  What materials are being collected and the processes and procedures for collection;

          (B)  Who currently has access to refuse, recycling, and composting collection services;

          (C)  How collection services are arranged and funded; and

          (D)  Improvements in services needed;

     (3)  Processing and materials recovery facility infrastructure, including:

          (A)  How collected materials are currently being processed and marketed;

          (B)  Whether the sorting technology is up to date;

          (C)  Whether there is sufficient capacity to process the volume of materials;

          (D)  Opportunities and infrastructure needed for more local processing of materials; and

          (E)  Costs to implement infrastructure improvements;

     (4)  Markets, including the state of markets for recovered materials and finished compost;

     (5)  Education, including the effectiveness of the existing outreach in educating residents;

     (6)  Levels of contamination in collected packaging materials and organics for composting;

     (7)  The impact of the composition of packaging materials on the reuse, recyclability, and compostability of packaging materials;

     (8)  An evaluation of how extended producer responsibility program laws are designed and work in other states and countries;

     (9)  An evaluation of an appropriate definition of "producer" for an extended producer responsibility program in the State;

    (10)  Equity and environmental justice, including:

          (A)  Consideration for how the existing system is operating and how extended producer responsibility could increase equity; and

          (B)  An assessment of equity issues in education efforts;

    (11)  Economic impact, including estimates in job development from increased reuse, recycling, and composting;

    (12)  Environmental benefits from reduction and reuse and local versus off-island materials processing;

    (13)  How extended producer responsibility can promote upstream improvement, such as source reduction, packaging redesign and optimization, reduction of packaging materials that are harmful to human health or the environment, and reuse and refill practices, including:

          (A)  Identifying opportunities for source reduction, reuse, and refill in packaging systems; and

          (B)  Cost and infrastructure needs to implement these systems; and

    (14)  Suggested diversion targets and timeline using baseline data from the needs assessment to determine the resources, infrastructure, educational program, and other initiatives needed to reach conservative, moderate, and aggressive waste reduction goal scenarios.

     (c)  The department of health shall conduct the assessment in consultation with the following stakeholders:

     (1)  Each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  Global and national producer responsibility organizations, including producer responsibility organizations actively working on reusable packaging systems;

     (3)  Producers of packaging materials and paper products;

     (4)  Refuse and recycling collection and processing service providers;

     (5)  Compost facility operators;

     (6)  Retailers, including restaurants, wholesalers, and distributors;

     (7)  Organizations and community groups involved with waste management and waste reduction; and

     (8)  Environmental and human health scientists;

provided that additional stakeholders may be included as the department deems necessary and relevant.

     (d)  The department of health shall convene an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  The advisory council shall include:

     (1)  One representative from each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  One representative from a national producer or producer trade association;

     (3)  One representative from a Hawaii-based producer or producer association;

     (4)  Two representatives who are experts or operators of reuse, refill, or circular economy systems;

     (5)  One representative from a Hawaii-based refuse service provider;

     (6)  One representative from a Hawaii-based recycling collection and processing service provider;

     (7)  One representative from a Hawaii-based retailer, including restaurants, wholesalers, or distributors;

     (8)  Two representatives from Hawaii-based organizations and community groups involved with waste management or relevant environmental advocacy;

     (9)  One representative who is an environmental or human health scientist;

    (10)  One representative from a business that manufactures consumer packaged goods for sale in the State; and

    (11)  One representative from the composting industry.

     (e)  The department of health shall hold a public hearing to obtain comments on the draft needs assessment.

     (f)  The department of health shall complete and submit the needs assessment, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature by December 31, 2028.

     (g)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Packaging materials" includes materials used for the containment, protection, or serving of products, including but not limited to paper, paperboard, cardboard, plastics, glass, or metal, or a mixture of any of these materials.  "Packaging materials" excludes deposit beverage containers included under the Hawaii deposit beverage container program.

     "Paper products" includes printed materials such as office paper, magazines, newspaper, and junk mail.  "Paper products" does not include bound books.

     "Refill" means employing packaging materials that consumers reuse.

     "Reuse" means the return of or to return packaging materials to the economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended for the original packaging without changing the original composition of the package, the identity of the product, or the components thereof.

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the deposit beverage container deposit special fund the sum of $           or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment, pursuant to section 3 of this Act, to inform the future establishment of an extended producer responsibility program; provided that:

     (1)  The moneys shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal year for which the appropriation is made; and

     (2)  All moneys from the appropriation unencumbered shall lapse as of the close of business on June 30, 2027, to the credit of the deposit beverage container deposit special fund.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

DOH; Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund; Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Advisory Council; Extended Producer Responsibility Program; Appropriation

Description:

Amends the authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund.  Requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.  Establishes an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  Requires the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and complete and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by 12/31/2028.  Appropriates funds out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD2)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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 solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties.  Most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which places the burden for managing waste on taxpayers, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to residents and the environment.  Landfills discharge leachate, a highly toxic fluid that has the potential for leakage that can cause harm to surrounding communities and nearshore and marine environments downslope.  The Waimanalo gulch landfill on Oahu produces around nine thousand eight hundred gallons of leachate per day.  Waste that is incinerated produces air pollutants and toxic ash; this toxic ash is often buried in landfills.  On Oahu, more than four hundred tons of toxic ash are buried in the landfill every day.  The legislature finds that the State will benefit from reduced waste production by expanding alternative strategies like reuse, refill, composting, and recycling.

     The legislature further finds that extended producer responsibility is a market-based, circular economy that encourages alternative waste management strategies as well as product design innovations that lead to source reduction of waste.  Extended producer responsibility programs shift responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, from consumers or governments to producers of the product.  This encourages sustainable product design that leads to less waste and more fully recyclable or reusable products and packaging.  Extended producer responsibility programs also typically reduce the financial burden on government for waste management and lead to better recycling services for residents.  Furthermore, these programs help create local jobs by expanding collection services, local processing of waste, and reuse and refill programs.

     The legislature finds that extended producer responsibility strategies can be applied to packaging waste as well.  Packaging waste is a large part of the waste stream and includes things like containers for food products, cleaning products, and personal care products, as well as waste associated with shipping and transporting products.  Extended producer responsibility programs for packaging waste exist in Canada, Europe, Asia, and five states across the United States, with several other states in the process of implementing programs by funding needs assessments, a necessary preliminary step to inform the development of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The purpose of this Act is to require and appropriate funds for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment and establish an advisory council with relevant stakeholders to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with less waste generation and more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  The department of health shall conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     (b)  The needs assessment shall detail the resources required in each county to reduce as much as feasible the packaging materials waste and paper products that the county sends to a landfill or power plant that burns municipal solid waste.  Additionally, the needs assessment shall consider the following:

     (1)  Waste and recycling characterizations, including baseline studies of what is in the waste stream, what is being recycled, what is being composted, and how these vary across local jurisdictions;

     (2)  Existing collection infrastructure, including:

          (A)  What materials are being collected and the processes and procedures for collection;

          (B)  Who currently has access to refuse, recycling, and composting collection services;

          (C)  How collection services are arranged and funded; and

          (D)  Improvements in services needed;

     (3)  Processing and materials recovery facility infrastructure, including:

          (A)  How collected materials are currently being processed and marketed;

          (B)  Whether the sorting technology is up to date;

          (C)  Whether there is sufficient capacity to process the volume of materials;

          (D)  Opportunities and infrastructure needed for more local processing of materials; and

          (E)  Costs to implement infrastructure improvements;

     (4)  Markets, including the state of markets for recovered materials and finished compost;

     (5)  Education, including the effectiveness of the existing outreach in educating residents;

     (6)  Levels of contamination in collected packaging materials and organics for composting;

     (7)  The impact of the composition of packaging materials on the reuse, recyclability, and compostability of packaging materials;

     (8)  An evaluation of how extended producer responsibility program laws are designed and work in other states and countries;

     (9)  An evaluation of an appropriate definition of "producer" for an extended producer responsibility program in the State;

    (10)  Equity and environmental justice, including:

          (A)  Consideration for how the existing system is operating and how extended producer responsibility could increase equity; and

          (B)  An assessment of equity issues in education efforts;

    (11)  Economic impact, including estimates in job development from increased reuse, recycling, and composting;

    (12)  Environmental benefits from reduction and reuse and local versus off-island materials processing;

    (13)  How extended producer responsibility can promote upstream improvement such as source reduction, packaging redesign and optimization, reduction of packaging materials that are harmful to human health or the environment, and reuse and refill practices, including:

          (A)  Identifying opportunities for source reduction, reuse, and refill in packaging systems; and

          (B)  Cost and infrastructure needs to implement these systems; and

    (14)  Suggested diversion targets and timeline using baseline data from the needs assessment to determine the resources, infrastructure, educational program, and other initiatives needed to reach conservative, moderate, and aggressive waste reduction goal scenarios.

     (c)  The department of health shall conduct the assessment in consultation with the following stakeholders:

     (1)  Each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  Global and national producer responsibility organizations, including producer responsibility organizations actively working on reusable packaging systems;

     (3)  Producers of packaging materials and paper products;

     (4)  Refuse and recycling collection and processing service providers;

     (5)  Compost facility operators;

     (6)  Retailers, including restaurants, wholesalers, and distributors;

     (7)  Organizations and community groups involved with waste management and waste reduction; and

     (8)  Environmental and human health scientists;

provided that additional stakeholders may be included as the department deems necessary and relevant.

     (d)  The department of health shall convene an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  The advisory council shall include:

     (1)  One representative from each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  One representative from a national producer or producer trade association;

     (3)  One representative from a Hawaii-based producer or producer association;

     (4)  Two representatives who are experts or operators of reuse, refill, or circular economy systems;

     (5)  One representative from a Hawaii-based refuse service provider;

     (6)  One representative from a Hawaii-based recycling collection and processing service provider;

     (7)  One representative from a Hawaii-based retailer, including restaurants, wholesalers, or distributors;

     (8)  Two representatives from Hawaii-based organizations and community groups involved with waste management or relevant environmental advocacy;

     (9)  One representative who is an environmental or human health scientist;

    (10)  One representative from a business that manufactures consumer packaged goods for sale in the State; and

    (11)  One representative from the composting industry.

     (e)  The department of health shall hold a public hearing to obtain comments on the draft needs assessment.

     (f)  The department of health shall complete and submit the needs assessment, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature by December 31, 2028.

     (g)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Packaging materials" includes materials used for the containment, protection, or serving of products, including but not limited to paper, paperboard, cardboard, plastics, glass, or metal, or a mixture of any of these materials.  "Packaging materials" excludes deposit beverage containers included under the Hawaii deposit beverage container program.

     "Paper products" includes printed materials such as office paper, magazines, newspaper, and junk mail.  "Paper products" does not include bound books.

     "Refill" means employing packaging materials that consumers reuse.

     "Reuse" means the return of or to return packaging materials to the economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended for the original packaging without changing the original composition of the package, the identity of the product, or the components thereof.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment, pursuant to section 2 of this Act, to inform the future establishment of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

DOH; Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Advisory Council; Extended Producer Responsibility Program; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.  Establishes an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  Requires the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and complete and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by 12/31/2028.  Appropriates funds.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.

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 solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties.  Most waste created in the State is landfilled or incinerated, which places the burden for managing waste on taxpayers, is costly, and creates pollution that is harmful to residents and the environment.  Landfills discharge leachate, a highly toxic fluid that has the potential for leakage that can cause harm to surrounding communities and nearshore and marine environments downslope.  The Waimanalo gulch landfill on Oahu produces around nine thousand eight hundred gallons of leachate per day.  Waste that is incinerated produces air pollutants and toxic ash; this toxic ash is often buried in landfills.  On Oahu, more than four hundred tons of toxic ash are buried in the landfill every day.  The legislature finds that the State will benefit from reduced waste production by expanding alternative strategies like reuse, refill, composting, and recycling.

     The legislature further finds that extended producer responsibility is a market-based, circular economy that encourages alternative waste management strategies as well as product design innovations that lead to source reduction of waste.  Extended producer responsibility programs shift responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, from consumers or governments to producers of the product.  This encourages sustainable product design that leads to less waste and more fully recyclable or reusable products and packaging.  Extended producer responsibility programs also typically reduce the financial burden on government for waste management and lead to better recycling services for residents.  Furthermore, these programs help create local jobs by expanding collection services, local processing of waste, and reuse and refill programs.

     The legislature finds that extended producer responsibility strategies can be applied to packaging waste as well.  Packaging waste is a large part of the waste stream and includes things like containers for food products, cleaning products, and personal care products, as well as waste associated with shipping and transporting products.  Extended producer responsibility programs for packaging waste exist in Canada, Europe, Asia, and five states across the United States, with several other states in the process of implementing programs by funding needs assessments, a necessary preliminary step to inform the development of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The purpose of this Act is to require and appropriate funds for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment and establish an advisory council with relevant stakeholders to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with less waste generation, more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  The department of health shall conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     (b)  The needs assessment shall detail the resources required in each county to reduce as much as feasible the packaging materials waste and paper products that the county sends to a landfill or power plant that burns municipal solid waste.  Additionally, the needs assessment shall consider the following:

     (1)  Waste and recycling characterizations, including baseline studies of what is in the waste stream, what is being recycled, what is being composted, and how these vary across local jurisdictions;

     (2)  Existing collection infrastructure, including:

          (A)  What materials are being collected and the processes and procedures for collection;

          (B)  Who currently has access to refuse, recycling, and composting collection services;

          (C)  How collection services are arranged and funded; and

          (D)  Improvements in services needed;

     (3)  Processing and materials recovery facility infrastructure, including:

          (A)  How collected materials are currently being processed and marketed;

          (B)  Whether the sorting technology is up to date;

          (C)  Whether there is sufficient capacity to process the volume of materials;

          (D)  Opportunities and infrastructure needed for more local processing of materials; and

          (E)  Costs to implement infrastructure improvements;

     (4)  Markets, including the state of markets for recovered materials and finished compost;

     (5)  Education, including the effectiveness of the existing outreach in educating residents;

     (6)  Levels of contamination in collected packaging materials and organics for composting;

     (7)  The impact of the composition of packaging materials on the reuse, recyclability, and compostability of packaging materials;

     (8)  An evaluation of how extended producer responsibility program laws are designed and work in other states and countries;

     (9)  An evaluation of an appropriate definition of "producer" for an extended producer responsibility program in the State;

    (10)  Equity and environmental justice, including:

          (A)  Consideration for how the existing system is operating and how extended producer responsibility could increase equity; and

          (B)  An assessment of equity issues in education efforts;

    (11)  Economic impact, including estimates in job development from increased reuse, recycling, and composting;

    (12)  Environmental benefits from reduction and reuse and local versus off-island materials processing;

    (13)  How extended producer responsibility can promote upstream improvement such as source reduction, packaging redesign and optimization, reduction of packaging materials that are harmful to human health or the environment, and reuse and refill practices, including:

          (A)  Identifying opportunities for source reduction, reuse, and refill in packaging systems; and

          (B)  Cost and infrastructure needs to implement these systems; and

    (14)  Suggested diversion targets and timeline using baseline data from the needs assessment to determine the resources, infrastructure, educational program, and other initiatives needed to reach conservative, moderate, and aggressive waste reduction goal scenarios.

     (c)  The department of health shall conduct the assessment in consultation with the following stakeholders:

     (1)  Each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  Global and national producer responsibility organizations, including producer responsibility organizations actively working on reusable packaging systems;

     (3)  Producers of packaging materials and paper products;

     (4)  Refuse and recycling collection and processing service providers;

     (5)  Compost facility operators;

     (6)  Retailers, including restaurants, wholesalers, and distributors;

     (7)  Organizations and community groups involved with waste management and waste reduction; and

     (8)  Environmental and human health scientists;

provided that additional stakeholders may be included as the department deems necessary and relevant.

     (d)  The department of health shall convene an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  The advisory council shall include:

     (1)  One representative from each county department responsible for waste management;

     (2)  One representative from a national producer or producer trade association;

     (3)  One representative from a Hawaii-based producer or producer association;

     (4)  Two representatives who are experts or operators of reuse, refill, or circular economy systems;

     (5)  One representative from a Hawaii-based refuse service provider;

     (6)  One representative from a Hawaii-based recycling collection and processing service provider;

     (7)  One representative from a Hawaii-based retailer, including restaurants, wholesalers, or distributors;

     (8)  Two representatives from Hawaii-based organizations and community groups involved with waste management or relevant environmental advocacy; and

     (9)  One representative who is an environmental or human health scientist.

     (e)  The department of health shall hold a public hearing to obtain comments on the draft needs assessment.

     (f)  The department of health shall complete and submit the needs assessment, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature by December 31, 2028.

     (g)  For the purposes of this section:

     "Packaging materials" includes materials used for the containment, protection, or serving of products, including but not limited to paper, paperboard, cardboard, plastics, glass, or metal, or a mixture of any of these materials.  "Packaging materials" excludes deposit beverage containers included under the Hawaii deposit beverage container program.

     "Paper products" includes printed materials such as office paper, magazines, newspaper, and junk mail.  "Paper products" does not include literary, text, and reference bound books.

     "Refill" means employing packaging materials that consumers reuse.

     "Reuse" means the return of or to return packaging materials to the economic stream for use in the same kind of application intended for the original packaging without changing the original composition of the package, the identity of the product, or the components thereof.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,000,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 for the department of health to conduct a statewide needs assessment, pursuant to section 2 of this Act, to inform the future establishment of an extended producer responsibility program.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

Report Title:

DOH; Packaging Waste; Needs Assessment; Advisory Council; Extended Producer Responsibility Program; Appropriation

Description:

Requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.  Establishes an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process.  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.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 225

Honolulu, Hawaii

                 , 2025

RE:    H.B. No. 750

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

       C.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madam and Sir:

     Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the House of Representatives to the amendments proposed by the Senate in H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Amend the authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to include evaluating and promoting recyclable market development activities;

     (2)  Require the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products;

     (3)  Establish an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process;

     (4)  Require the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and complete and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by December 31, 2028;

     (5)  Allow manufacturers to coordinate activities directly related to the recycling of covered electronic devices;

     (6)  Expand the scope of covered electronic devices to include electronic device peripherals and certain legacy devices;

     (7)  Allow manufacturers to provide free collection service locations and collection events to satisfy their recycling obligations; and

     (8)  Appropriate funds out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund for the needs assessment.

     Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Removing provisions related to amending the authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Special Fund, allowing manufacturers to coordinate certain activitites, expanding the scope of covered electronic devices, and allowing manufacturers to provide free collection service locations and collection events to satisfy their recycling obligations;

     (2)  Clarifying that the Department of Health may contract for professional services to conduct the needs assessment;

     (3)  Amending the composition of the advisory council;

     (4)  Changing the deadline for the submission of the needs assessment from December 31, 2028, to December 31, 2027;

     (5)  Changing the appropriation amount to $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2025-2026, adding an appropriation of $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027, and changing the means of financing from the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to general revenues;

     (6)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 2025; and

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, C.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1825

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 750

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to reduce the amount of waste that is deposited into Hawaii's landfills.

     Specifically, this measure:

     (1)  Authorizes the Department of Health to use moneys in the deposit beverage container deposit special fund to evaluate recyclable market development activities;

     (2)  Requires the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment for reducing waste generation, increasing reuse, and achieving related goals; and

     (3)  Amends the Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act to increase and facilitate electronic device recycling.

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, Poai Ke Aloha Aina: Center for Ancestral Circular Economy, and one individual.

     Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from two individuals.

     Your Committee received written comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Budget and Finance, Hawaii Reef and Ocean Coalition, Hawaii Environmental Change Agents (HECA) – Solid Waste Reduction Task Force, Consumer Technology Association, and Hawaii Food Industry Association.

     Your Committee finds that the development of a statewide needs assessment to reduce waste, including electronic waste, will help reduce the quantity of waste deposited into Hawaii's landfills and the harmful climate impacts of waste materials.

     Your Committee acknowledges the concerns raised in written comments regarding Part II of the measure, amending the Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Act.  However, rather than deleting Part II from the measure, your Committee has retained the language to allow further discussion by a Committee on Conference, if one is convened on this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1234

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 750

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Amend the authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund;

     (2)  Require the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products;

     (3)  Establish an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations throughout the assessment process;

     (4)  Require the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and complete and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by December 31, 2028; and

     (5)  Appropriate funds out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, one member of the Kauaʻi County Council, Climate Change and Health Working Group, Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition, Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi; Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Public Health Association, Zero Waste Kauai, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, and seven individuals.

     Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Food Industry Association, Flexible Packaging Association, Retail Merchants of Hawaii, Hawaiʻi Restaurant Association, and Consumer Technology Association.

     Your Committees find that solid waste may soon exceed landfill capacity in all of the State's counties and that the State would benefit from reduced waste production by expanding alternative strategies such as reuse, refill, composting, and recycling.  Your Committees further find that extended producer responsibility programs encourage alternative waste management strategies as well as product design innovations that lead to source reduction of waste by shifting responsibility for a product's lifecycle from consumers or governments to producers of the product.  Your Committees additionally find that extended producer responsibility strategies can be applied to packaging waste, a large part of the State's waste stream.  Accordingly, this measure requires the Department of Health to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to identify the necessary resources and strategies to enhance the State's sustainability efforts through an Extended Producer Responsibility Program for packaging materials and paper products.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting language that would have had restaurants, wholesalers, or distributors be represented by one Hawaii-based retailer on the advisory council;

     (2)  Inserting language adding the following members to the advisory council:

          (A)  One representative from a Hawaii-based restaurant;

          (B)  One representative from a Hawaii-based wholesaler; and

          (C)  One representative from a Hawaii-based distributor of food products;

     (3)  Inserting as Part II of the measure, the content of S.B. No. 1298, S.D. 2, Regular Session of 2025, which:

          (A)  Allows manufacturers to coordinate activities directly related to the recycling of covered electronic devices;

          (B)  Expands the scope of covered electronic devices to include electronic device peripherals and certain legacy devices; and

          (C)  Requires manufacturers to provide free collection service locations and collection events;

     (4)  Inserting a $3,000,000 appropriation amount out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund;

     (5)  Inserting language to declare that the appropriations contained in this measure will cause the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund expenditure ceiling for fiscal years 2025-2026, 2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029 to be exceeded;

     (6)  Extending the date that this measure's appropriations will lapse to the credit of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund from June 30, 2027 to June 30, 2029; and

     (7)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Agriculture and Environment,

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  885

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.B. No. 750

      H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Finance, to which was referred H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Clarify the authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to include evaluating and promoting recyclable market development activities;

     (2)  Require and appropriate funds for the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment and establish an advisory council with relevant stakeholders to determine what would be needed to transition to a more circular system with less waste generation and more reuse, and the necessary infrastructure to sort and locally process recyclable materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products; and

     (3)  Require the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by December 31, 2028.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Just Zero; Hawai‘i Reef and Ocean Coalition; Climate Protectors Hawai‘i; Hawaiʻi Climate Change and Health Working Group; Recycle Hawaii; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; and numerous individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health; Hawai‘i Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission; one member of the Kaua‘i County Council; and Hawaii Food Industry Association.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Finance that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Finance,

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  779

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.B. No. 750

      H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce, to which was referred H.B. No. 750, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products;

     (2)  Establish an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations;

     (3)  Require the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by December 31, 2028; and

     (4)  Appropriate funds for the needs assessment.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission; Hawaii Environmental Change Agents Solid Waste Reduction Taskforce; and one individual.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the American Forest & Paper Association and Hawaii Food Industry Association.

     Your Committee finds that much of the plastic waste that is disposed of in landfills results in the release of methane and carbon dioxide.  According to the most recent Inventory Report developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, United States landfills released an estimated 122,600,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of methane into the atmosphere in 2021.  This represents 16.9 percent of the total anthropogenic methane emissions across all sectors in the country.  Your Committee further finds that materials consumption contributes directly to climate change because it requires energy to mine, extract, harvest, process, and transport raw materials and more energy to manufacture, transport, and dispose of waste products.  This measure will help Hawaii address the full impact of materials on the State's communities and set out a transformative vision for its waste management system.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Clarifying authorized uses of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund to include evaluating and promoting recyclable market development activities;

     (2)  Amending the appropriation by:

          (A)  Changing the means of financing from general funds to the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund;

          (B)  Changing the appropriation to an unspecified amount for only the fiscal year of 2025-2026; and

          (C)  Specifying when the appropriation shall lapse;

     (3)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $1,000,000.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 750, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce,

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  92

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.B. No. 750

      H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection, to which was referred H.B. No. 750 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE ENVIRONMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to:

     (1)  Require the Department of Health to conduct a statewide needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products;

     (2)  Establish an advisory council to review the draft needs assessment and propose recommendations;

     (3)  Require the Department of Health to hold a public hearing on the draft needs assessment and submit the needs assessment to the Legislature by December 31, 2028; and

     (4)  Appropriate funds.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health; Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission; Hawaiʻi Reef and Ocean Coalition; Climate Protectors Hawaiʻi; AMERIPEN; Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; American Cleaning Institute; Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United; Environmental Caucus of the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi; and three individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Food Industry Association and Flexible Packaging Association.

     Your Committee finds that extended producer responsibility programs shift responsibility for a product's lifecycle, including end-of-life management, from consumers and governments to the producers of the product.  Your Committee further finds that these kinds of programs encourage sustainable product designs that lead to less waste and more fully recyclable and reusable products and packaging.  This measure will help determine the viability of such a program by requiring the Department of Health to conduct a needs assessment to determine what will be needed to reduce waste generation, increase reuse, improve recycling collection services, and expand local processing of materials through an extended producer responsibility program for packaging materials and paper products.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Adding representatives from a business that manufactures consumer packaged goods for sale in Hawaii and the composting industry to the advisory council;

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     Your Committee notes the testimony from the Hawaii Food Industry Association regarding exemptions for prescription medications, medical devices, and supplements but finds that since this measure only creates a needs assessment, these exemptions may be premature and instead should be considered in future legislation creating an extended producer responsibility program.

     Your Committee respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider appropriating funds for this measure out of the Deposit Beverage Container Deposit Special Fund instead of general revenues.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 750, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 750, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection,