HB268

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	268
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to DISPOSABLE wipes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that disposable wipes, including wipes identified as "flushable", do not readily break down as toilet paper does when flushed down the toilet and into the wastewater system, can clog the homeowner's main lateral before reaching the municipality's pipes, or combine with other materials to clog a sewer pipe, wastewater pump station, or treatment plant, causing costly backups and spills. The legislature further finds that there is no standard definition of what is flushable and no standard method to assess flushability. Accordingly, the term "flushable" may be used by a manufacturer to mean that it will clear the toilet bowl. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has also urged consumers to only flush toilet paper and to properly dispose of disinfecting wipes and other items in the trash, not the toilet, stating their failure to break down in sewer or septic systems can damage a home's internal plumbing or local wastewater collection systems and treatment equipment, creating backups that can threaten public health and divert resources away from the essential work being done by water utilities to treat and manage the nation's wastewater.

According to the International Water Services Flushability Group, an organization that represents water professionals, to be considered flushable, wipes must break into small pieces quickly, not be buoyant, and only contain ingredients that will readily degrade in natural environments. Despite the lack of an agreed-upon standard, utilities have urged customers for years to ignore "flushable" labels on increasingly popular, premoistened wipes. Some utilities say their wipe problems significantly worsened during the pandemic-induced toilet paper shortage and that some customers who resorted to baby wipes and "personal hygiene" wipes appear to have continued their use long after toilet paper returned to store shelves.

The legislature finds that, according to utilities, the wipes can twist into ropy wads, either in a home's sewer pipe or miles down the line, then congeal with grease and other cooking fats to form sometimes massive "fatbergs" that block pumps and pipes, sending sewage back up. The legislature also finds that the city and county of Honolulu's sewer system is designed to only transport water, toilet paper, and human waste to a wastewater treatment plant, and at the start of the pandemic, three of the four counties in the State issued press releases advising the public not to flush wipes down the toilet, including "flushable" wipes, baby wipes, cleaning wipes, bathroom hygiene or wet wipes.

The purpose of this Act is to protect residential and municipal plumbing and sewerage systems, public health, the environment, water quality, and public infrastructure used for the collection, transport, and treatment of wastewater from the detrimental effects of "flushable" wipes by prohibiting their sale, offer for sale, and distribution for sale in the State.

SECTION 2. Chapter 342D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part I to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§342D- Sale and distribution of flushable wipes; prohibition. (a) Beginning , , it shall be unlawful to sell, offer for sale, or distribute for sale in the State any flushable wipe.

(b) Any person who violates this section shall be subject to the penalties provisions of part II, in addition to any other remedies provided by this chapter.

(c) For purposes of this section, "flushable wipe" means a disposable wipe contained in packaging labeled "flushable", "sewer safe", or "septic safe" or otherwise indicating that the product is appropriate for disposal in a toilet. "Flushable wipe" excludes a disposable wipe contained in packaging labeled "toilet paper"."

SECTION 3. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

SECTION 4. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________