Implementation of Honolulu’s ban on plastic and polystyrene containers is being further delayed after businesses said supply chain challenges are preventing them from complying. Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration granted a six-month exemption to the food industry this month after a request from Chamber of Commerce Hawaii President Sherry Menor-McNamara. Food vendors won’t have to comply with the law until Sept. 5.
In 2019, environmental advocates lauded the passage of Bill 40, which was aimed at reducing waste and the island’s reliance on oil-based products. Its implementation was designed to occur in two waves, but it hit some snags with the pandemic. A ban on plastic utensils, among other measures, began in April 2021 but was suspended within a few months because of pandemic-related impacts on the restaurant industry. The prohibition on plastic and polystyrene containers was supposed to start on Jan. 1 of this year, but it was delayed for the same reasons.
Both bans were set to take effect on March 6, according to Henry Gabriel, Honolulu’s recycling program branch chief. But now, the six-month exemption will further stall the law’s impact. The law allows the city to grant industry exemptions to the ban if there is evidence compliance would cause hardship. An applicant could meet that qualification if there are no acceptable alternatives to the banned products or if they’re not readily available due to market supply constraints, according to the law.