Hawaii County backs plastic bag bill

"We'll make it work, but it's going to be higher costs and inconvenience for the consumer," said Botti. "There's going to be a problem with wet and frozen goods."

Not a problem when we all buy canvas or nylon totes. They can go through the washing machine when necessary.

Kauai Guy wrote:

"We'll make it work, but it's going to be higher costs and inconvenience for the consumer," said Botti. "There's going to be a problem with wet and frozen goods."
Not a problem when we all buy canvas or nylon totes. They can go through the washing machine when necessary.

I agree to a certain extent. But what about tourist traveling island to island? Unless there are bags, not plastic, for the tourist. We would never think to bring washable bags on vacation.

although, I will admit, I cannot recall buying anything in Waikiki except in the ABC stores that was in plastic bags. I think the answer has to be washable tote bags which we use here in Sayre PA, some of us, as it has been reported on the news that paper and plastic bags take about the same time to de-grade. I don't know if that is true or not. mahalo and aloha

This is another stupid idea. I've never seen any of the Hilo councilmen at any of our supermarkets so I guess they didn't bother to ask their wives whether it is a good idea.

Why can't they leave it up to the people to decide by placing it on the November ballot? It affects everyone on the Big Island including the tourist.

I wonder if the merchants can take this matter to court? Offering plastic bags to customers isn't a matter of public safety so how can the County dictate the use of plastic bags? Any attorneys have an opinion on this?

A problem is that it also requires resources to create canvas and nylon totes. It's like the rants from some people who despise when people drive SUVs yet turn around and purchase hybrid vehicles that require sources to be created which further pollute the aina. Another example of a misguided and lame decision.

This is stupid. People think used the super markets as the primary example, but what about all the small stores, the farmers market people, the non profit people who put hulihuli chicken in plastic bags. This is just BIG BROTHER mentality at its worst. If it was really so good for businesses and others to do this, they would do it on their own, instead of government dictating. We have more important things to do. Is this the first step to banning all plastics, because the same argument can be made about other plastic products. When will this kind of stuff stop.

Lana,
require sources to be created ????
If they're driving it it's been created.
anyway you sure are a looker:
http://www.myspace.com/iloveakupalu

Asinine. It rains all the time in Hawaii, hence your rainbows. So people are supposed to walk with heavy groceries in paper bags which will get wet and fall apart, spilling their groceries all over the sidewalk. Also your #1 industry is tourism. So when tourists go to the ABC Stores for their souvenirs and groceries they are supposed to bring their own bags from Japan or the mainland??? With all the luggage restrictions these days I hardly think people are going to pay an extra $25-$50 so they can pack a whole suitcase of nylon bags for their shopping. I can't wait for the new Hawaii tourism ads "B.Y.O.B - Bring Your Own Bags".

Put the queston on the November ballot - LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE-

The majority of people did decide on the Big Island. Or at least the majority of people that cared enough to voice their concerns to their councilmen/women.

This is what the majority of people on the Big Island want!

Could someone report on why some stores charge 99 cents for reuseable bags and some charge $1.99 or more. Also, how much do these bags actually cost the stores? Are the stores going to be laughing all the way to the bank as they rip off consumers? Why don't the stores pay us for not using their plastic bags?

west side so le wrote:

Lana,
require sources to be created ????
If they're driving it it's been created.
anyway you sure are a looker:
http://www.myspace.com/iloveakupalu

Why a perv!

Bring on the paper. They hold way more stuff and they make great rubbish bags. when I travel to the mainland they always pack the groceries in Paper bags. Dump those crapy Walmart and ABC bags. Not to mention Safeway, Foodland and the rest of them.

All the usual excuses about too expensive, dumb liberals taking over, on and on. Lana, make some sense. You support the ban on Maui but not on the Big Island? Use the cloth bags people. You won't know it until you try it. Given a choice of carrying 5 plastic bags vs. 2 cloth ones from the grocery - which one would you choose? C'mon folks. It's a small price to pay to reduce the amount of trash.

A similar measure was introduced on Oahu that would have banned plastic bags island-wide. The retail grocers balked and Mufi came to there rescue. The Mayor feels it is more important to have plastic to burn at union-run waste plants. He has no respect for the aina and responds only to those who contribute to his campaign. I wonder if the cost of buying off Mufi is less than the cost of switching to paper bags. We need to refuse plastic bags at the check-out and force retailers and grocers to use paper or other materials. You can bring your own carry bag to the store as an alternative. Then we need to dump Mufi in the coming election; he can always get a job bagging groceries.

As I stated elsewhere....if I lived there I would bring in my own "plastic" bags to the store to bag my groceries in. I bet I wont get a price break on groceries. Makes about as much sense as express lines or "self check out lines". I will only use self check out lines if I get a price break. If I use those Im just doing their work for them and not saving a dime.

Stupid Stores.

this is the best thing bravo!

Hey, lets make all the newspapers out of thin plastic! That way I can sew the pages into fine suits for those fancy occasions down in Spreckelsville.

Johannes wrote:

As I stated elsewhere....if I lived there I would bring in my own "plastic" bags to the store to bag my groceries in. I bet I wont get a price break on groceries. Makes about as much sense as express lines or "self check out lines". I will only use self check out lines if I get a price break. If I use those Im just doing their work for them and not saving a dime.

Aren't you special!! You should try listening to yourself. You sound like society owes you for living. Don't worry - when (and if) you come here, just like Texas, we won't pay you either for using the self checkout lines. It will be just like home. Oh wait, I forgot, someone needs to pay you to come here.

-Lana- wrote:

hybrid vehicles that require sources to be created which further pollute the aina. Another example of a misguided and lame decision.

Sorry, that information isn't accurate at all.

Hybrid vehicles use nickel-metal hydride batteries. Some car companies such as Toyota have a $200 bounty on these battery packs which are recycled. The nickel, a valuable metal, is recovered. So is the metal from the battery casing and copper from the wiring. Not much left after that.

Honda has a 7-year warranty on their hybrid battery packs and one that fails before that period is replaced at no cost.

The total "footprint" of any SUV far exceeds that of any hybrid compact. Basic math tells you it takes more steel and plastic to put together 4,500 pounds of SUV than it does to assemble even a hybrid compact weighing about 2,400 pounds.

If you compare a standard Honda Civic to a hybrid Honda Civic, then the hybrid takes more resources. However the break-even point due to reduced emissions comes around 20,000 miles or after two years.

More information:
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index...