Bill
SCR 132
Urges Hawaii to adopt UN Global Plastics Treaty and Rapa Nui Summit recommendations to reduce plastic pollution through lifecycle management, fair transition, and ocean/climate jus
SCR132 Summary — Hawaii Concurrent Resolution Encouraging UN Plastics Treaty and Rapa Nui Summit Recommendations
Overview
SCR132 is a concurrent resolution in Hawaii that urges the State to adopt and implement recommendations from the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty and the Rapa Nui Summit Declaration to advance climate justice and sustainable development. While non-binding, it expresses intent to guide state policy, regulatory focus, and partnerships related to plastics pollution, ocean health, and Indigenous rights.
Purpose and Intent
- Recognize the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, and the ocean’s importance to Pacific communities.
- Acknowledge Indigenous knowledge and leadership, and the roles of women, youth, and elders in ocean stewardship.
- Promote a comprehensive approach to plastics that aligns with the UN Global Plastics Treaty, including lifecycle management, circular economy principles, and just transition supports.
- Advance culture-based climate justice and rights-based, inclusive policy for protecting marine ecosystems and coastal communities.
Key Provisions and Provisions Mapping
- UN Global Plastics Treaty alignment:
- Establish regulations for plastic products and uses; support circular economy (reuse, recycling); manage waste soundly; align public/private expenditures.
- Phase out unnecessary high-risk plastics (single-use items, excessive packaging); implement binding product design standards to reduce consumption; ensure implementation support (technical/financial) for a just transition.
- Targeted benchmarks: overall plastic packaging reduction of 30% over 12 years, with a 10% reduction by 2027; phasing out single-use plastics (bags, straws, to-go containers, polystyrene ware, coolers).
- Hawai‘i-specific actions:
- Explore incentives for refill/reuse systems to reduce single-use plastics.
- Improve lifecycle reporting, transparency, and traceability of chemicals and plastics.
- Advocate chemical simplification, group-based regulation of hazardous chemicals; implement monitoring, testing, and quality control.
- Economic incentives aligned with the Zero Waste Hierarchy; protect workers in the plastics lifecycle (e.g., waste pickers) during transitions.
- Just transition and equity:
- Emphasize producer responsibility, non-toxic reuse systems, and upstream interventions to reduce harmful chemicals.
- Ensure rights-based, inclusive considerations in addressing plastic pollution and marine degradation.
- Ocean health and Indigenous/coastal community resilience:
- Promote ocean protection, marine biodiversity, and resilience mechanisms; integrate scientific and traditional knowledge.
- Culture-based climate justice honoring UN and Pacific Islands Forum principles.
- Process and advocacy:
- Encourage greater participation in UN human rights, sustainable development, and climate processes.
Impacts and Beneficiaries
- State agencies and policymakers: potential guiding framework for future bills, regulations, and programs.
- Indigenous peoples, local coastal communities, and waste workers: emphasis on just transition, protections, and inclusive participation.
- General public and the environment: aims to reduce plastic pollution and enhance marine resilience.
Procedural History and Timeline
- Introduced: March 7, 2025.
- House action: Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 723) and amended SD1; final form adopted in mid-April 2025.
- Senate action: Transmitted to Senate and reported in amended form (SD1); engaged in committees (TCA/AEN, EEP) in late March–April 2025.
- Final status: Adopted in final form around April 15, 2025; transmitted to UN officials, Hawaii’s congressional delegation, and Governor.
Sponsorship and Related Measures
- Primary sponsor: Representative RHOADS.
- Related bill: SR 111 (companion, in the Senate).
- Nature: Concurrent resolution (non-binding), signaling policy priorities and urging action rather than creating new law.
Notes
- As a concurrent resolution, SCR132 does not itself authorize spending or create enforceable duties; it expresses legislative support for adopting UN and Rapa Nui recommendations and guiding state actions toward climate justice and sustainable development.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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