HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

145

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM TO STUDY THE UTILIZATION OF RECYCLABLE PLASTICS AND OTHER ALTERNATE ENERGY SOURCES FOR THE GENERATION OF POWER.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii is reliant on crude oil and coal for the generation of electricity; and

WHEREAS, oil costs in Hawaii have risen over 32 per cent in the past year ($23.20 per barrel in January 2002; $33.65 per barrel in January 2003), as documented by the Hawaiian Electric Company; and

WHEREAS, diversion of waste plastic into electricity annually can offset 11,000 barrels of imported oil, freeing up the use of this oil for manufacture of essential products, such as gasoline and jet fuel; and

WHEREAS, plastic bottles have a conservative heat value of 17,000 BTUs per pound, so 16, 20-ounce bottles could generate 1.27 kilowatts of electricity, enough to keep a 60-watt light bulb burning for 21 hours; and

WHEREAS, PET and HPDE plastics used in bottles are nontoxic and burn cleanly, providing a locally available energy source; and

WHEREAS, garbage-to-energy facilities on Oahu now generate an estimated eight per cent of all power on this island, and it is possible today to build waste-to-energy facilities at a fraction of the cost of the original H-POWER plant; and

WHEREAS, states such as California have faced rolling blackouts and serious energy shortages as a result of failures to look at comprehensive energy resource solutions; and

WHEREAS, the prospects of war in the Middle East have already caused significant crude oil price increases and could result in a cut-off of oil shipments from that part of the world; and

WHEREAS, the diversion of waste from landfills and the local ability to convert that waste to usable power prolongs the life of our solid waste facilities; and

WHEREAS, the cost of collecting, shredding, baling, and shipping plastics out-of-State far exceeds the price that can be received for that plastic, resulting in millions of dollars in net loss to taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, countries such as Japan have built 74,000 kilowatt thermoelectric power plants run entirely on fuel made from recyclable plastics; and

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has already supported solar hot water, bagasse (sugar cane waste) burning, wind farms, and other alternative forms of electrical power generation; and

WHEREAS, a large percentage of consumer products enter Hawaii packaged in plastic; and

WHEREAS, recycling plastic into electricity would relieve the necessity of sorting, shredding, and shipping spent packaging out-of-State, when it can be utilized as fuel within the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT), in conjunction with other appropriate government agencies, as determined by DBEDT, is requested to study the potential benefits of utilizing waste-stream plastic for the purpose of generating electricity and submit a report of its findings, recommendations, and possible legislation, to the Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

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