Rise Against Plastics Rally at the Hawai‘i State Capitol

Did you know that the average person uses 400 plastic bags a year? Were you aware that more than 46 million plastic bottles were thrown in landfills in the last year alone? Whew. That’s a lot of plastic, and its wreaking havoc on the environment.

There are solutions, however. Next Wednesday, February 10, the Rise Above Plastics Coalition will hold a press conference and rally at the Hawaii State Capitol from 12 to 1 p.m. on the second floor.

The Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club, Styrophobia and other organizations of the coalition are partnering to educate the public about plastics and the negative effects it can have on both our marine and land environments. Rise Above Plastics also hopes to spread the word on two pieces of Legislation this session—SB 2559 and HB 2125. The Senate bill proposes to ban single-use plastic bags (SUP), while the House bill proposes to establish a small fee to use SUP bags. Bills proposing a statewide ban or fees like this have been introduced in prior sessions, but never made it far enough to pass.

A fine on plastic bans proved successful in Ireland: the government there imposed a $.20 fee on plastic bags and plastic bag use declined by 90 percent in one year. The Rise Above Plastics Coalition argues that a law like this in Hawaii will raise revenue while changing people’s buying habits, saving stores money from buying thousands of bags and clean up the Islands. And with alternatives such as biodegradable food containers, recyclable grocery bags and metal Sigg water bottles, taking plastic out of your life is easier than ever.

A plastic bag monster (in the photo above), comprised of 400 plastic bags will also be present at the rally demonstrating how many plastic bags we use each year per person.

So come out to show your support and learn how to reduce your plastic footprint. Or the plastic bag monster might get you.