04/18/2024 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

          HB 354-RESTRICT RESTAURANT USE OF POLYSTYRENE                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:56:16 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX  announced that the  final order of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 354, "An Act  relating to the use  of polystyrene                                                               
foam  and biodegradable  or compostable  disposable food  service                                                               
ware; and providing for an effective date."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:56:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
}REPRESENTATIVE   ANDY  JOSEPHSON*   Alaska  State   Legislature*                                                               
Juneau,  Alaska*  As prime  sponsor,  introduced  HB 354  to  the                                                               
committee.{  as   prime  sponsor,   introduced  HB  354   to  the                                                               
committee. He  began his introduction  by explaining  the history                                                               
of the use  of polystyrene foam in Alaska  and shared information                                                               
about his  own involvement in environmental  legislation that had                                                               
previously  come before  the legislature.  He explained  that the                                                               
impetus of the idea to  ban polystyrene foam in Alaska originally                                                               
came from  the Alaska  Community Action on  Toxins group  who had                                                               
put forward  recommendations on environmental  legislative action                                                               
to be  taken. He  highlighted that  Bethel, Cordova,  and Seward,                                                               
Alaska  have  all already  banned  the  use of  polystyrene  foam                                                               
within their boroughs and explained  that the term "Styrofoam" is                                                               
often used  in place of  the term  polystyrene. He said  that the                                                               
United   States  Plastic   Pact  has   conceded  the   fact  that                                                               
polystyrene is non-recyclable.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:04:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
}LISA KELLER, Staff* Representative  Andy Josephson* Alaska State                                                               
Legislature*   Juneau,  Alaska*   On  behalf   of  Representative                                                               
Josephson,   prime  sponsor   of  HB   354,  gave   a  PowerPoint                                                               
presentation on  HB 354.{ On behalf  of Representative Josephson,                                                               
prime sponsor  of HB  354, gave a  PowerPoint presentation  on HB
. She began  the presentation on slide 2,  which explained the                                                               
definition of  the polystyrene chemical itself.  She continued to                                                               
slide 3, which gave examples of  polystyrene as one might know in                                                               
its  average use.  She moved  to  slide 4,  highlighted the  main                                                               
issues  that are  associated  with the  use  of polystyrene.  She                                                               
moved to slide  5, which displayed a list of  other countries and                                                               
states that have banned the  use of polystyrene and other related                                                               
chemicals.  She  pointed  to  Bethel,   Cordova,  and  Seward  as                                                               
communities in  Alaska that  have banned  the use  of polystyrene                                                               
themselves and  emphasized that public sentiment  is in agreement                                                               
with the proposed legislation.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:11:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   FIELDS    requested   data   related    to   the                                                               
bioaccumulation  of polystyrene  in marine  mammals and  asked if                                                               
there  are  any  studies  that confirm  the  harmful  effects  of                                                               
polystyrene.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JOSEPHSON  directed  his  answer  to  the  second                                                               
question   to  Pamela   Miller  and   answered  that   indigenous                                                               
communities in the arctic are at  a higher risk of adverse health                                                               
effects of  polystyrene, like bioaccumulation, due  to the nature                                                               
of  ocean currents  that congregate  the waste  along the  arctic                                                               
coast.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:13:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MINA asked  if  HB  354 would  cover  the use  of                                                               
polystyrene in food trucks.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said that HB  354 would limit the use of                                                               
polystyrene in food  trucks and said that  the trucking companies                                                               
would be able to propose an alternative with the DOH.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked how the  term "undue hardship" would be                                                               
interpreted  by  the  DOH  or  the  Department  of  Environmental                                                               
Conservation (DEC).                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:15:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
}CRYSTAL   KOENEMAN*    Legislative   Liaison*    Department   of                                                               
Environmental  Conservation* Juneau,  Alaska* Answered  committee                                                               
questions on  HB 354.{  answered committee  questions on  HB 354.                                                               
She said that the Division  on Environmental Health would oversee                                                               
the implementation of section 17 HB 354.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MINA  asked for  a definition  of the  term "undue                                                               
hardship" as mentioned in section 17 of HB 354.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON explained how  the term "undue hardship"                                                               
would be defined  and interpreted by both  executive agencies and                                                               
the judicial branch of the Alaska State Government.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:16:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE RUFFRIDGE  commented that  the banning  of plastic                                                               
bags in  Soldotna had no consequence  on the use of  plastic bags                                                               
in the borough.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:18:06 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK  shared his experience that  the banning                                                               
of  polystyrene  in  Bethel  has  never  been  enforced  and  the                                                               
products have been allowed to be  used regardless of the law that                                                               
was passed to limit their use.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  RUFFRIDGE  asked  what  alternative  options  for                                                               
polystyrene could be utilized.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:19:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JOSEPHSON  said  that  a  specific  hard  plastic                                                               
container would  be recyclable,  while polystyrene  is impossible                                                               
to recycle in any situation.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:20:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
}PAMELA MILLER*  Executive Director and Senior  Scientist* Alaska                                                               
Community  Action  on  Toxics* Anchorage,  Alaska*  Gave  invited                                                               
testimony  on HB  354.{ gave  invited  testimony on  HB 354.  She                                                               
explained that  polystyrene is a  hazardous material  that should                                                               
not  be used  in  food  contact materials  and  said  that it  is                                                               
impossible  to recycle.  She highlighted  that the  styrene in  a                                                               
polystyrene  food  container  often  leeches  into  the  food  or                                                               
beverage  that  of which  it  is  holding  and explained  to  the                                                               
committee a  series of  safer alternative  options that  could be                                                               
utilized.  She opined  that the  proposed legislation  is "common                                                               
sense" and urged the committee for their support of HB 354.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:25:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MINA  asked  how  HB 354  may  be  enforced  when                                                               
companies might have work-arounds and  ways to avoid bans such as                                                               
the one proposed in HB 354.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MILLER  explained  that  HB  354 aims  to  ban  the  use  of                                                               
polystyrene in food containers, not  any other sector of use, and                                                               
shared her  belief that  banning the use  of polystyrene  in food                                                               
containers was a good place to  start in the banning of hazardous                                                               
materials in Alaska.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
4:28:02 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX opened public testimony on HB 354.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:28:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ASHLYN  JOHNSON, representing  self, testified  in support  of HB
.   She  said   that  polystyrene   foam   is  a   significant                                                               
environmental  pollutant in  Alaska that  doesn't biodegrade  and                                                               
said that it breaks down  into microplastics, which she said pose                                                               
a unique risk to public,  environmental, and wildlife health. She                                                               
said that the  regulation of polystyrene foam would be  a step in                                                               
the right direction and urged the committee's support of HB 354.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:30:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX, after  ascertaining there was no one  else who wished                                                               
to testify, closed public testimony on HB 354.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:31:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS asked  Ms. Koeneman  if the  definition of                                                               
"restaurant" as  used in  HB 354 would  encompass food  trucks as                                                               
well.  He  asked  how  an  establishment  that  falls  under  the                                                               
"restaurant"  definition  would  determine which  is  the  safest                                                               
material to use in their food containers.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:32:07 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  KOENEMAN answered  that the  definition  of "restaurant"  as                                                               
used in  HB 354 would include  food trucks and said  that the DEC                                                               
and  DOH  would work  together  to  develop guidelines  for  food                                                               
establishments to avoid  the use of hazardous  materials in their                                                               
food containers.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
4:34:08 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MCCORMICK  referred to  his previous  mention that                                                               
the ban  on polystyrene  foam in Bethel  is unenforced  and asked                                                               
how a law like HB 354 could be enforced.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:34:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON replied  that HB 354 has  a section that                                                               
would allow  a restaurant to  seek out alternative and  said that                                                               
his hope  of HB 354 is  to encourage food establishments  to move                                                               
away from using hazardous food containers.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:36:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS  commented that  polystyrene  alternatives                                                               
are economically viable.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:37:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MINA asked  what a restaurant would  do with their                                                               
current stock  of polystyrene food  containers if HB 354  were to                                                               
pass.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON said  that the effective date  of HB 354                                                               
would  give  food establishments  time  to  "work through"  their                                                               
current  supply  of   hazardous  materials  while  simultaneously                                                               
introducing safer options.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:39:25 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX  asked how big of  a role food establishments  play in                                                               
the use of polystyrene materials and their associated pollution.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  JOSEPHSON gave  an example  of a  restaurant that                                                               
would   not  provide   plastic  utensils   unless  the   customer                                                               
specifically asked for them and explained  that HB 354 would be a                                                               
good  place  to  start  in  the reduction  of  use  of  hazardous                                                               
materials in general.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:42:28 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  FIELDS  asked  if the  Alaska  State  Legislature                                                               
should add  a provision to  HB 354 that  would direct the  DEC to                                                               
perform  an outreach  program to  food establishments  around the                                                               
State to  ensure that  they have a  steady access  to polystyrene                                                               
alternatives.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:43:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. KOENEMAN  replied that the  DEC would  be happy to  look into                                                               
the  prospect of  an outreach  program  and said  that she  would                                                               
follow up with the committee  later on the DEC's current workload                                                               
capacity.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:45:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MINA  asked  for  a   breakdown  of  the  use  of                                                               
polystyrene between restaurants, retail, and other sectors.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
4:45:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPHSON  replied that  HB 354  could've included                                                               
language  for delis  in  a grocery  store and  said  that it  was                                                               
simpler to target the use of polystyrene in restaurants only.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:47:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PRAX announced that HB 354 was held over.