Plastic Bag Reduction
Maui County was the first to ban plastic bags in Hawaii. The county passed the ordinance back in August of 2008. The law won’t take effect until January 11, 2011. This will give plenty of time for local businesses to use their supply of single use plastic bags. It will also allow time for the businesses to acquire a stock of 100% recyclable paper bags and reusable bags.

Purpose

The ordinance states that the production and use of plastic bags have significant impacts on the environment, therefore, the council finds and declares that the use of plastic bags must be regulated to preserve the health, safety, welfare, and scenic and natural beauty of the County of Maui. The purpose is to encourage the use of environmentally preferable alternatives to plastic bags, such as recyclable paper bags or reusable bags.

I think most people on Maui are happy to see this ban go into effect. It will help reduce pollution in two ways, using less oil based products and not having loose plastic bags floating around. We collected 159 plastic bags in our North Shore Clean Up. Here are some more stats from our launch event.

4 hours work -169 volunteers-4 miles-13,400 pounds of trash of solid wastes and metals including 8 recovered cars (2 more cars we think coming – 5600 pounds actual waste 7800 pounds scrap metal)-1713 cigarette butts-drug pipes and syringes and piles of little girl’s clothing-212 food wrappers-159 plastic bags-339 caps and bottle lids.
The North Shore of Maui is now a much cleaner and safer place. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!

Read more: http://plasticbagbanreport.com/maui-bans-plastic-bags/#ixzz14OIs5UN9