HB 264-SHOPPING BAG FEES & RECYCLING  8:03:10 AM CO-CHAIR PARISH announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 264, "An Act relating to a fee for disposable shopping bags; relating to the sale of reusable shopping bags; relating to the recycling of disposable shopping bags; and providing for an effective date." 8:03:32 AM REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, presented HB 264. He announced his staff would offer answers to questions asked at the last hearing of HB 264, on 2/10/18. He remarked that the research into the questions brought to light that there were more communities seeking to ban plastic bags than he had thought there were. He said he believes a ban may be "the preferred route." He said he asked Legislative Legal and Research Services how far out the effective date could be, because a delayed effective date may give communities more chance to prepare. He indicated that he has not yet received an answer. 8:05:44 AM REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS restated a question he had asked on 2/10/18, which is whether plastic bags present more of a problem than other forms of plastic or Styrofoam trash. REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON deferred to Ms. Delaney. 8:06:33 AM LISA DELANEY, Staff, Representative Andy Josephson, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime sponsor of HB 264, said she has not been able to find statistics specific to Alaska but is still seeking an answer for Representative Kreiss-Tomkins. REPRESENTATIVE KREISS-TOMKINS said the question is important to his understanding the impetus of HB 264. He said he sees Styrofoam as a greater problem in Southeast Alaska. He said he is interested in solving "the greatest harm." REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON pointed to the handout in the committee packet of answers that Ms. Delaney had compiled, and he said [plastic bags] are second, after fishing gear, as attractants to fish and birds. 8:08:43 AM CO-CHAIR PARISH return to public testimony, [which had remained open after commencing on 2/10/18]. 8:09:29 AM PATRICIA CUE testified in support of HB 264. She offered the following information from the Environmental Working Group regarding plastic bags: Americans use more than 100 billion bags per year; use per person is more than 300 annually; average length of use is 12 minutes; the expectancy of each bag is up to 1,000 years; during the 2011 International Coastal Cleanup, volunteers collected 120,450 pounds of bags in the United States; in the ocean bags break down into small, plankton-size particles and can outnumber plankton 6:1, and the particles collect toxins at levels up to 1 million times the level found in sea water; marine wildlife often mistake plastic bags for food, especially sea turtles hunting jellyfish; parts of plastic bags have been found blocking the breathing passages and stomachs of whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and turtles; 85 percent of all sea turtles will be injured or killed by plastic, including endangered leatherback turtles that summer in Massachusetts Bay; and 80 percent of marine debris comes from land-based waste - there are five "garbage patches" [gyres] in the Pacific Ocean. MS. CUE relayed that retail businesses spend more than $4 billion annually to provide plastic bags. She said at the time the information was published by the Environmental Working Group, nearly 100 cities, towns, and counties around the U.S. had banned plastic bags around the U.S. - half of them in the past year. She said she supports a total ban on plastic bags and thinks "Alaska is capable of moving forward with this House bill." 8:13:39 AM DAVID NEES, Research Associate, Alaska Policy Forum, observed that representatives from large grocery stores had not weighed in on the issue. He said in Alaska there is a preference to use local control over state government control. He acknowledged that many communities in Alaska "have, indeed, enacted local control measures." He noted that Washington, D.C., is the only place that has imposed a fee on plastic grocery bags. He said there are three states that have banned their use but "three times as many states that prohibit the ban on plastic bags." He related that four states decided that labeling plastic bags for recycling purposes is "a much more effective way of having them enter the environment." He clarified that the idea is to keep plastic bags out of the environment by encouraging people to recycle them. Mr. Nees reiterated that it is a small percentage of the U.S. that has placed fees on plastic bags. He added that some localities have enacted the fee, including Boulder, Colorado, Brownsville, Texas, New York, New York, and Portland, Maine. He repeated that elsewhere there are bans or prohibitions against bans. He opined that recycling would be more effective and "any cost that's incurred on this is going to be passed on to the consumers, so it will have a negative economic impact on the economy of Alaska." He concluded, "We're not particularly in favor of this bill; we'd prefer a recycling program." 8:16:25 AM MR. NEES, in response to Representative Saddler, said his research shows about 17 states have either "a ban or a ban" - most want a recycling program. He offered his understanding that charging a fee for a bag is opposed in one or two states - mostly in large cities, such as New York City, where most people walk to grocery stores and need something in which to carry their groceries; in those areas the use of recyclable bags and the recycling of plastic bags is encouraged. He offered to send a link from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) outlining this information. 8:18:31 AM ANNEMIEKE POWERS testified that she is a small business owner and engineer, who has worked for the past 25-plus years cleaning up contaminated sites. She stated her main concern with plastic bags is the long-term environmental and economic impact of pollution. She said even when people properly dispose of the bags, too many of them blow out of trash bins and landfills and, because they are so lightweight, are easily transported by water and wind. She asked, "Who's going to clean up the pollution and who's going to pay for it?" She added that her professional experience has shown that "it is cheaper to prevent pollution at the source than to pay for cleanup after the fact," and a bag ban or fee does just that. She said in 2016 the World Economic Forum predicted that at current rates of pollution, the world's oceans would contain more plastic by weight than fish by the year 2050. She said this impairment to the oceans and fishes could have an economic impact to Alaskans. She said protecting the fishing industry was one of the main reasons the City of Cordova imposed a bag ban in 2016. MS. POWERS said the effect of plastic bags on the food chains of land mammals has not yet been assessed. At the Matanuska- Susitna (Mat-Su) Experimental Farm, plastic bags have been found in the stomachs of caribou and moose. She said Alaskans rely on "the beauty and health of our land and waters for tourism, hunting, and fishing," and she said she thinks Alaska should be proactive in protecting these resources. She continued: Since plastic pollution is widespread and not the sole responsibility of any one person, incorporation, or nation, most cleanup costs will likely be borne by government entities, which means it will eventually be paid for by the tax payers; that means by you and by me. And if we don't act, our kids and grandkids will bear any even larger cost, because this pollution problem is not going to go away by itself, but if we don't do anything, it will only grow. Banning or imposing a fee on these bags certainly does not eliminate all plastic pollution, but it is a very simple means of eliminating one, widely used source, and it's an easy way to start, because it's something that can be controlled by the individual. I can't control how companies package their goods, but I can control how I carry them from the store to my car. My household stopped using plastic grocery bags years ago, and honestly it has not been a hardship at all. 8:21:26 AM MS. POWERS, in response to Representative Saddler, said she heard from one woman involved in the plastic bag ban in Cordova that the ban has been successful. She said the plastic bag ban passed in Wasilla would not go into effect until July. 8:23:09 AM KARLA HART testified in support of HB 264. She said she has traveled extensively in West Coast communities before and after they banned plastic bags, and she has traveled globally in China, Russia, Estonia, Finland, and Switzerland, and in all those places it is routine for people who want a shopping bag to pay for a thicker, reusable one. She offered her understanding that people don't have an issue with this routine. She said the framework for opposition from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) seemed to be based on concern that store clerks would have difficulty estimating how many bags customers would need, and she opined that is a weak argument indicating the NFIB does not "have much against this ban," because in most of the communities she has visited, customers decide how many bags they want to pay for and how they want to bag their goods. Ms. Hart noted that the City of Seattle, whose population she said she thinks is greater than that of the entire state of Alaska, has had a bag ban in effect since [July 1, 2012], and all the major retailers in Alaska, such as Fred Meyer and Safeway, also operate in Seattle and are already able to handle [the ban]. Ms. Hart urged the committee to [impose the fee on plastic bags, as proposed under HB 264], and then to "tackle other plastic waste that Representative Kreiss-Tomkins mentioned." She added, "There are certainly other things, but this is available; it's a low-hanging fruit to start making a change." 8:25:37 AM SUSIE HAYES, Volunteer, Valley Community for Recycling Solutions; Member, Mat-Su Zero Waste Committee and Plastic Bag Committee, said she has lived in Alaska for 30 years and worked for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game (ADF&G) until retirement two years ago. She said she participated in local spring cleanups and picks up trash whenever recreating in Alaska. She said there is a litter problem in the state, part of which is plastic. She said people see plastic bags in trees and along fences, but they don't see the remnants of plastic bags that shred into small pieces and blow into creeks and rivers and flow into the sea. MS. HAYES expressed concern about "the amount of unnecessary and ... toxic waste going into landfills." She said plastic bags may be reused in homes, but eventually they will take up space in landfills. She said there are over 100,000 people in her borough and growing, and if additional landfills are built, then they will overtake trails and parkland. She opined that single use plastic bags are not necessary and there are so many good alternatives. Cloth bags can be used for years and easily washed and air-dried; paper bags are an alternative that can be repurposed, recycled, and burned. She said when she has offered reusable bags to people, she has heard people decline the offer because they say they already have reusable bags - they just need the encouragement to use them. Ms. Hayes concluded by asking the committee to listen to its constituents and construct legislation that encourages shoppers to bring their own bags and discourages stores from distributing any free plastic bags. 8:28:53 AM JAMES SQUYERS testified in opposition to HB 264. He stated, "I am appalled at the seemingly insatiable desire to increase the size, scope, footprint, and influence of government. This is a fine example of government overreach penalizing responsible members of society for the actions of the irresponsible ones." Mr. Squyers offered his understanding that there is already a $100,000 fine established statewide for littering, which he said is evident from all the signs posted. He suggested an effort be made to "clean up the state one litterbug, one junkie, and one totalitarian politician at a time." He encouraged the committee chair to put the proposed legislation in a drawer and leave it there. He remarked on the number of bills the legislature had introduced with only a 90-day session scheduled. 8:30:09 AM MR. SQUYERS, in response to Representative Saddler, confirmed that stores in Rural Deltana issue plastic bags, and he emphasized that those bags fit all his trash cans at home, thus, "everything gets recycled out here." 8:30:43 AM WILLIAM HARRINGTON opined that it is "the irresponsible use by the people who get these plastic bags in the stores that are causing the problem." He said the City of Spenard [plants] flowers for the tourists every year, and at the end of the season, those flowers are put into black plastic bags, loaded into a truck, and taken to the dump. He said it seems crazy to do that with organic material. He emphasized that it is not just store bags that are causing the problem. He said he recycles plastic store bags as garbage bags, and he questioned who does not throw his/her garbage bags into a plastic bag of some sort in the kitchen. He wished the committee good luck with "all this." 8:32:55 AM MICHELLE PUTZ, Member, Bags for Change, said there are about 40 people in the group and about a dozen volunteers, including students. She said studies show that plastic is getting into food sources; toxins from plastics are effecting reproductive health in children and infants and could affect the health of fish; plastic, which is made from petrochemicals, lasts forever in the environment; plastic bags can damage and kill wildlife, litter communities, and increase the amount of waste that must be shipped south; and using sustainable bags is a sustainable behavior that is "easy to choose and to change." She relayed that she had spoken with a woman in Sitka whose boat almost ran into the rocks when the motor sucked up a plastic bag and overheated. MS. PUTZ said Bags for Change is working to try to pass a fee that would pay for tools and reduce electric rates. The group conducted a reusable bag roundup and giveaway, as well as a poster contest to help people remember to bring their reusable bags when shopping. She said a fee may help with reduction of plastic bag use, because it would incentivize behavior change and force customers to make a conscious decision to purchase bags. She added that it also gives people a choice. She said there was a poll done in Sitka, and one of the questions asked whether single use plastic bags should be "a), banned; b), provided, but for a fee that would be used to support Sitka schools and to reduce residents' electric costs; c), handed out for free; or d), no opinion." She said the results will hopefully be in, in the next couple weeks. She said the group also held an informal poll on Sitka Chatters, a Facebook page she described as not progressive, and the results were as follows: 195 said take no action; and 225 said take action, whether a ban or a fee. MS. PUTZ, regarding HB 264, said she would like the words "operate year-round" deleted from page 4, line 1. She said she thinks whether or not a business operates all year, it should help pay the fees. She opined that Alaska's visitors should help pay the costs of "the things that we do in our communities." 8:37:46 AM CO-CHAIR PARISH, after ascertaining that no one else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 264. CO-CHAIR PARISH announced that HB 264 was held over.