Down to Earth In Favor of Big Island Plastic Bag Ban

The proposed Big Island plastic bag ban is a contentious and emotional issue (and not just on the Big Island, this is an issue throughout the state, the nation and the world). I testified at a hearing on the bill last Tuesday before the Environment Committee of the Hawaii County Council. The proposed bill was defeated in a 6 - 3 vote. Down to Earth's position on the bill was incorrectly stated in an article by the Hawaii Herald Tribune on Wednesday, February 3, 2010. I sent the following letter to the Hawaii Herald Tribune to correctly state our position:

Your article entitled “Little love for plastic bag ban” 2/3/2010 incorrectly stated that Down to Earth is opposed to the bill that would ban the use of plastic shopping bags. On the contrary, Down to Earth supports the bill and the important goal of reducing the amount of plastic getting into the environment. Down to Earth presented testimony in favor of amending the bill to allow the use of biodegradable plastic shopping bags. These bags fully break down into water, methane and harmless hummus (compost/soil) when placed in landfills, the ocean, or the general environment within nine months to five years.

Down to Earth gives away reusable shopping bags to its loyalty program members, and pays customers 5 cents per bag that they bring to the store to use for bagging their purchases. Last Earth Day, as an additional environmentally friendly option, Down to Earth halted the use of regular plastic bags and became the first Hawaii retailer to introduce biodegradable shopping bags.

Without having the option of biodegradable bags retailers and customers would be forced to use paper bags instead. Paper bags have their own set of problems including that they weigh 6 - 7 times as much as plastic, and require more container loads to bring the same quantity of bags. Paper bags have a bigger carbon footprint than biodegrable plastic, cost significantly more, and are manufactured using harmful chemicals that pollute waterways etc.

We believe that biodegradable plastic bags offer a realistic and environmentally friendly alternative to a complete ban on plastic shopping bags.

Mark Fergusson
Chief Vegetarian Officer