Many states have banned the use of plastic bags. You know, the kind you get whenever and where ever you shop. Plastic bags and bottles are a huge part of the garbage that pollutes our land fills and oceans. Hawaii is the first state to implement a ban on plastic bags.
“Passing the bans did take an effort — change always does — but people seemed to understand the need for such an effort,” Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club’s Hawaii chapter, told msnbc.com of the two-year campaign across the islands.
The Honolulu County Council approved the ban late last month and Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, who is also the county executive, initially held back his support, saying he wanted to collect more public input due to enforcement and cost concerns.
But when he signed the ban on Thursday, Carlisle was fully committed, especially since retailers were given three years to comply.
“This is groundbreaking. By signing this environmentally friendly bill, Honolulu joined our neighbor island counties,” Carlisle said. “Hawaii has become the only state in the United States where every county has plastic bag legislation.”
The plastic bag ban report web site has a list of cities and states that ban plastic bags and the regulations. Not all 50, yet, but soon, all states will ban more plastic waste.
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