Hawai'i Chapter: Don't Forget Your Bag
February 13, 2012
The 50th state might become the very first state in the country to bag the bag if an idea the legislature is currently weighing becomes law. Last week, the Sierra Club's Hawai'i Chapter joined a coalition outside Honolulu's capitol building and covered the outside lawn with plastic bags, giving state legislators a visual sense of our country's massive bag problem.
"A plastic bag is almost like the modern day tumble weed," says Robert Harris, Chapter Director. "Being a marine state, we have to be more vigilant about eliminating them before they get into the ecosystem."
The bill being considered would target all bags -- paper and plastic -- and tack on a fee of 10 cents that would go toward restoring and protecting watersheds and rainforest areas that get trampled by invasive animals -- goats, sheep, deer, pigs. Supporters believe a state-wide bag fee could raise about $20 million a year.
Don't like the idea of a fee? No problem. Bring your own bag.
"Bags are the low hanging fruit in terms of our waste stream," Harris said.
Last week's rally received a big boost from Diana Sellner, a local Girl Scout who mobilized help as part of her bid to earn the Gold Award, the scouting program's top award. Soon after she began, environmental groups, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, and retailers hopped on board.

