While city and state legislation to ban plastic bags appears to have stalled, some businesses have already been taking steps to wean Hawai'i consumers from single-use plastics.

Dozens of North Shore restaurants, stores and others have joined the "Plastic Free Haleiwa" coalition, which aims to minimize the consumption of disposable plastics such as plastic bags and polystyrene foam food containers.

The philosophy is also being practiced by some businesses in other parts of the island as concerns grow about the waste generated from nonbiodegradable disposable plastics and its impact on the environment.

"We decided ... let's be ahead of the curve, let's not be followers," said Kelly Tsutsui, co-owner of Food for Thought Hawaii, a lunch-truck business in Hale'iwa. "Let's be leaders and show an example of what you can do."

Tsutsui helped spearhead "Plastic Free Haleiwa," a project recently launched by the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation. "Plastic Free Haleiwa" reusable bags are being sold at participating businesses, at least some of which will be offering a discount to customers who bring their own reusable bag, according to the foundation.

The project has caught the attention of not just those on the North Shore, but businesses and residents in other areas, said Katie Pere, the foundation's director of greening and events.

"Hale'iwa was the starting point, and we've already had other people from other towns around the island asking, 'How can we get started?' " Pere said. "It's been a really exciting thing that has kind of taken on a life of its own, and everyone's really pumped up about it."

MANY ARE SWITCHING

The foundation met with North Shore Chamber of Commerce members late last month to discuss the project and brought representatives from Styrophobia and Sustainable Island Products, local suppliers of biodegradable and compostable products, including bags made from cornstarch and food containers made from bagasse — sugar cane fiber.

Tsutsui's business, which opened about four months ago, has opted for these products over plastics.

"If you buy something to go at our restaurant, we put your food in a bagasse, sugar-cane-based to-go clamshell (container), you get a cornstarch fork, knife and spoon, recycled paper napkin, and it's put in a biodegradable bag," Tsutsui said.

The North Shore Chamber of Commerce is working with the foundation to encourage businesses to convert to more environmentally friendly alternatives and supports a voluntary effort rather than a legal ban of plastic bags, said chamber executive director Antya Miller.

Meanwhile, businesses on other parts of the island have also been moving away from plastics.

Kale's Natural Foods in Hawai'i Kai stopped ordering plastic shopping bags and expected to run out of them soon. The store has been encouraging customers to bring their own bags or purchase reusable bags at the store, where boxes — which previously carried stock — are also available.

CHARGING FOR PAPER

Customers who need a disposable shopping bag will be charged 10 cents for a recyclable paper bag, owner Kale Gibb said. He said paper bags in itself — while recyclable — are not the perfect alternative, adding that the store will continue to urge customers to bring their own bags. He estimated that one in three customers already bring their own reusable bags.

"I just think it's the responsible thing to do," Gibb said. "Plastic is, in terms of cost per bag, so cheap, so readily available, so easy. But the easy thing isn't always the right thing."

Buzz's Original Steak House restaurants in Pearl City and Kailua switched more than a year ago to biodegradable and compostable products, including take-out containers, bags, utensils and even straws, said corporate officer Kaleo Schneider, daughter of owner Bobby Lou Yeackel.

The products cost "pennies" more compared to their plastic counterparts, a cost the company absorbs, Schneider said.

Buzz's also ordered thousands of reusable shopping bags and will give them to customers to use at supermarkets and stores beginning next month, she said.

"I'm kind of the sustainable freak," Schneider said. "I told my mom, 'This is the wave of the future. ... Our restaurant is so successful, the least you can do is be on the forefront of something that's important for the planet.' "

It costs about 1 cent to 3 cents more for biodegradable utensils than plastic ones, said Ari Patz, sales and marketing director of Styrophobia. Takeout containers made from bagasse are on average 10 to 15 cents more than typical styro containers, he said.

Bagasse containers biodegrade in 30 to 90 days in a composting facility, depending on the conditions, Patz said. Corn-starch bioplastics will break down in 90 to 180 days, depending on the composting environment, he said.

BRING YOUR OWN

Ultimately, the Kokua Hawai'i Foundation wants the elimination of single-use plastic bags and to see most residents bring their own bags to stores, said Pere.

"We want to encourage people to ... reduce the amount of things that they have, reuse the things that they do have, and to cut down on waste altogether and recycle whatever is left," Pere said.

More than 100 cities and local jurisdictions, such as Portland, Ore., and Berkeley, Calif., have banned polystyrene foam, and San Francisco has banned petroleum-based plastic bags in large grocery stores.

China is banning free plastic shopping bags, and other countries like South Africa, Ireland and Taiwan have passed legislation to discourage plastic bag use with measures like taxing shoppers who use them or imposing fees on companies that distribute them.

The idea to ban plastic bags hasn't gotten far in the Legislature or the Honolulu City Council, and the future of a measure to ban Styrofoam is unclear.

The City Council's planning and sustainability committee this month deferred action on a bill to ban plastic bags after hearing opposition from city administrators and retail industry advocates.

Lawmakers in the House considered legislation to prohibit businesses from using plastic bags, but amended the bill to instead require certain retail stores to establish plastic bag recycling programs and make reusable bags available to customers.

The bill would also prohibit counties from imposing a plastic bag ban or fee upon those retail stores.

The Senate Energy and Environment Committee last week advanced a measure to prohibit restaurants from using plastic foam food containers beginning in 2010. A similar measure stalled in the House.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.