Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
02/18/2025 03:15 PM House STATE AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB75 | |
| HB25 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 25 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 75 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 91 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 25-DISPOSABLE FOOD SERVICE WARE
3:48:15 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that the final order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 25 "An Act relating to disposable food service
ware; and providing for an effective date."
3:48:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ANDY JOSEPHSON, Legislator, Alaska State
Legislature, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 25 with a
PowerPoint presentation. [hard copy included in committee
file.] He said HB 25 would ban or restrict restaurant use of
polystyrene, commonly called Styrofoam. He said that
polystyrene came to his attention as a source of concern when he
attended the 2019 National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.
He said that there are bipartisan legislators that attend this
event. He learned here that Maryland was the first state to
restrict the use of polystyrene, and since that time about 12
states have joined Maryland by adding restrictions and there are
at least 250 cities that restrict this product. He said he
brought this bill forward given previous microbead legislation
and other discussions. He said that the Matanuska-Susitna
("Mat-Su") Valley had moved forward to ban plastic bags and
several cities have followed suit as well.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said polystyrene is an insidious
product and creates a climate footprint that alternative
products would not. He said that polystyrene is a significant
environmental pollutant, it does not degrade, it breaks into
pieces, and it travels easily. He remarked that it is
particularly problematic in water bodies. He said that it is a
plastic, and it degrades into microplastics and creates a severe
risk to wildlife and human health. He said that it is composed
of the chemical styrene, and it has been linked to multiple
health ailments including cancer. He said that this chemical
can harm the respiratory tract, cause eye irritation,
gastrointestinal ailments, and vision and hearing problems as
well. He said the by-product from leeching, and it's broken
down microparticulate can cause serious problems for wildlife.
He said that this product is not recyclable but often included
in recycling efforts and causes recycling issues for products
exposed to it. He said that chemical recycling is not an
effective solution for polystyrene, and it creates other health
hazards and waste. He spoke about the availability of
alternative materials that can act as substitutes for this
product.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said that more than 50 chemical
byproducts are released during the manufacturing process, and
this also causes serious implications. He remarked that
polystyrene is a problem on the production end and the pollution
end. He said that plant-based material substitutes do not
create the same environmental hazards. He remarked that one
study found that while polystyrene was 1 percent of waste, it
constituted 10-40 percent of all litter found on streams. It
takes up to 500 years to biodegrade. Representative Josephson
said that he felt there was a duty as an Alaskan to participate
in solving this plastic crisis. He said that in conjunction
with the Alaska Committee Action on Toxics, this is the pathway
that should be considered.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said that the proposed bill does have
some carveouts. It would not restrict products coming to Alaska
that are already wrapped in polystyrene. He said that the
proposed bill would not interrupt interstate commerce. He said
it would also allow the Department of Environmental Conservation
(DEC) to entertain exemptions if alternatives are not available
at a fiscally feasible standpoint. He said that multiple
documents were available that discuss the need for this
legislation. He said that one such document claims that food
ware products are the most common way Americans interact with
Styrofoam. He said packaging can also cause leeching concerns.
He said that daily collected plastic waste could fill the
entirety of the Dallas Cowboys Stadium. He said that Styrofoam
products alone could fill four Dallas Cowboys stadiums in a
single year.
3:58:50 PM
CHAIR CARRICK mentioned that some companies are trying to reduce
Styrofoam waste. She asked why enact legislation to force
companies to do this as opposed to letting the free market
eliminate it.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that he had been visited by
the American Chemistry Council, and they opposed the
legislation. He said that people will not automatically
prescribe to a trend. He said that 69 countries have banned the
product and 250 cities have. He said it is a hazard to the
fisheries and Alaska is uniquely vulnerable in that respect. He
also noted that there are alternatives available, and he thinks
that an incentive is needed, and in this case, it is a
restriction with a start in restaurants. He said this bill
would not disable the industry and currently alternatives were
used by some cities including Juneau.
CHAIR CARRICK remarked that Alaska has a few communities with
local bans and this issue was something that many local
communities have discussed.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON added that the bans were in Bethel,
Cordova, and Seward. Interestingly, Bethel and Cordova were
leaders in banning plastic bags. He said these were local
communities that worked through their city councils. He opined
that the state would benefit from this type of restriction.
4:01:42 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLLAND remarked that he was curious to how this
proposed bill would potentially create opportunities for market
alternatives. He asked what Representative Josephson has seen
in the country when these restrictions go into place and what
opportunities there were.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that he shares Representative
Holland thoughts and there could be new enterprises to adapt to
the changing conditions. He noted that even Senator Dan
Sullivan has been combatting plastic waste, particularly in the
ocean. He said that there is a business in Anchorage that
creates alternatives to linear recycling and briefly discussed
the business. He said that he knows that people can adapt, and
Juneau was a testament to that. He also said that a letter of
support was available to highlight this.
4:03:57 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE asked how prevalent the use of styrofoam is
in Alaska. She remarked that in Homer, the market demand has
made changes to the type of food ware used. She said that she
doesn't run into Styrofoam in her community and said she doesn't
recall the last time she used a Styrofoam cup. She also asked
if it would impact the bottom line and whether local
alternatives were available that have a reasonable price point.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that he doesn't know how
prevalent it is. He remarked that while visiting Shuyak Island
in the Kodiak Archipelago, the beaches were covered in plastic
that came from Asia. He said he views this bill as comparable
to climate mitigation efforts in Alaska. He said that Alaska is
certainly less than 1 percent of the problem and said the bill
aims to further restrict this type of waste. He remarked that
given his previous research; this bill is 1 of 100 steps that
need to be taken to address plastic waste. He said lives have
been easy and comfortable using Styrofoam and recognized that
change may mean less convenience.
4:06:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT asked how this proposed bill would be
enforced. She remarked on previous clean-up efforts on the
Kodiak Archipelago and the vast amount of waste. She remarked
that she was not sure how it would work.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said that he would need to check DEC
regulatory authority and remarked that HB 25 also would prevent
the state from procuring these types of products. He said it is
an outright restriction.
KEN ALPER, Staff, Representative Josephson, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Josephson, prime
sponsor of HB 25, added that he did not have a direct answer.
He remarked that this is a regulatory statute, and the Food,
Drug and Cosmetic Act deals with restrictions in Alaska. He did
not know if it was complaint-based enforcement and did not know
whether the Department of Environmental Conservation was
conducting inspections or what the enforcement mechanism would
be. He said that DEC would be contacted prior to the next
hearing.
4:09:01 PM
CHAIR CARRICK remarked that looking at the impact of
bioaccumulation and microplastics in mammal populations, this
was a huge issue. She asked if Representative Josephson had any
information or could follow-up with information regarding what
proportions of bioaccumulation are a result from microplastics
as opposed to other contaminates.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that he was thinking about
meetings with a professional in the last two years and remarked
that had done research on this. He said studies on lakes,
estuaries and other water bodies were conducted and that
information could be forwarded. He said that one thing that is
known is that the Arctic is a plastic sinkhole because of the
movement of oceanic currents. He said someone would think that
this area would be pristine, but in reality, it is not. He said
research has been done on microplastics in general.
4:11:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY remarked that the fiscal note didn't
include any costs to DEC. She said that she understood that the
department does not visit facilities as frequently as liked and
this is a caution for enforceability. She asked what food
service providers think of the proposed bill.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON responded that HB 25 was filed in the
previous term, and he still needed to make those inquiries. He
said that the research paperwork provided to the committee
suggest that the American People are willing to make this
adjustment and find alternatives.
REPRESENTATIVE STORY noted that many restaurants in the Juneau
area have taken steps to use food ware that is more
biodegradable. She said that she reached out to some industry
members and felt there was some receptivity to this idea.
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON asked if there was enough time for Mr.
Alper to proceed with a PowerPoint presentation pertaining to
the bill.
CHAIR CARRICK responded that there was not enough time
remaining.
4:13:58 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON stated that there was an upcoming
"lunch and learn" opportunity that discusses plastic pollution
and its health implications. He noted that Ms. Pam Miller was
an Alaska resident and professional expert on this issue and
would be presenting for this event. He concluded that the
current use of plastics is unsustainable.
4:14:56 PM
CHAIR CARRICK announced that HB 25 was held over.