Hawaii Senate Bill 649 (2023) - (Failed)

Material exclusions include:

1. Deposit beverage containers
2. Product packaging regulated as as a drug, medical device, or dietary supplement by the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration under the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act

Producer is defined as any person that manufactures or uses in a commercial enterprise, sells, offers for sale, or distributes the packaging material in the state under the brand of the
manufacturer.

If there is no manufacturer, the owner or licensee of a trademark which the covered product is used in commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state is the Producer.

The entity that imports the packaging material into the US or state for use in a commercial enterprise, sold, offered for sale, or distribution, is the producer if there is no manufacturer or licensee. The department can determine any other person that sells a large amount of consumer-packaged goods in the state.

On or before July 1, 2026, the department shall publish the packaging waste reduction and reuse implementation plan, including the implementation strategy designed to achieve a seventy percent reduction of packaging waste deposited in landfills or incinerated in the state by 2030, with funding in whole or in part from covered packaging producers beginning on July 1, 2026.

The department shall submit an annual report to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of each regular session beginning one year after the establishment of the packaging waste reduction and reuse program.

The packaging waste special fund is established and administered by the department. Money deposited into the packaging waste special fund include all fees, payments, and penalties collected by the
department, any appropriation by the legislature to the fund, any grant or donation and any interest earned on the balance of the fund.

The department shall establish, on or before 2024, a packaging waste advisory council, which shall advise the department on the needs assessment and the packaging waste reduction and reuse plan. By July l, 2025, the department shall issue a draft of the plan for review and comment by the council. Within sixty calendar days of receiving the draft plan, the council shall provide recommendations based on majority vote.

The council shall consist of the following members:

1. The director of the department of health or the director's designee, who shall serve as the chair of the council
2. The chairs of the standing committees of the senate and house of representatives with subject matter jurisdiction over the environment or their designees
3. A representative from the city and county of Honolulu department of environmental services with experience in sustainable waste management
4. A representative from the county of Maui department of environmental management with experience in sustainable waste management
5. A representative from the county of Kauai department of public works with experience in sustainable waste management
6. A representative from the county of Hawaii department of environmental management with experience in sustainable waste management
7. One representative of community organizations in each of the four counties‘ that have focused on packaging waste reduction, selected by the chair
8. One expert in governmental activities regarding programs to achieve packaging waste reduction nationally and internationally, selected by the chair
9. Three representatives of large packaging producers of consumer—packaged goods in the state, selected by the chair
10. One representative of small local businesses that manufacture products in the state, selected by the chair
11. Two national experts in reusable packaging who are not affiliated with any packaging producers in the state, selected by the chair
12. Two representatives from recycling and waste hauling businesses working in the state, selected by the chair

The department of health, with assistance from each county, shall develop a statewide needs assessment that shall detail the resources needed to reduce packaging waste from each respective county's baseline amount by seventy percent by 2030.

Reusable packaging means a product or packaging that is reusable, refillable, or returnable; non-toxic; safe for washing and sanitizing according to applicable state food safety laws; and is part of a system that achieves multiple cycles of use, equitable access, and reduced waste.