Oahu Passes Plastic Bag Ban & Fee

After helping to pass the initial bag ban in 2012, Surfrider has been working to amend the law to close the loophole on the so-called “reusable plastic bags,” which were just thicker.  We also sought to place a fee on all paper and plastic bags to encourage people to use real, eco-friendly reusable bags.  To do this, we reached out to Council Members, the Rise Above Plastics Coalition and the grocery stores to find a common solution. After five years of work, the Honolulu City Council finally passed Bill 59 CD3 on Wed., July 12th, unanimously voting to support the fee and ban, which will phase out all plastic bags by 2020.