WAILUKU — County Council members heard from a panel of experts Wednesday but deferred action on a proposed ban on plastic shopping bags, The Maui News reported.

"I think we've only scratched the surface," said council member Mike Victorino, chairman of the Public Works and Facilities Committee.

The proposal would require businesses with annual gross sales over $250,000 to provide compostable plastic bags, paper bags or reusable bags to customers. Proponents say standard plastic shopping bags cause litter and threaten marine life.

Retailers argued the ban would hurt residents because stores would have to pass on the higher cost of alternative bags to customers.

"If we try something different, we have a chance of different results," said David Diven, one of several testifiers in favor of banning the bags. "If we keep doing plastic bags, we know what we'll get: plastic bags all over the place."

Carol Pregill of Retail Merchants of Hawaii said retailers wanted to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags through a comprehensive program of educating consumers, offering incentives and promoting alternatives.

"Give us a couple years, let us implement a recycling program," she urged.

But council member Mike Molina said government needed to step in, noting stores on Maui only began selling and promoting reusable bags after he proposed the ban on plastic last summer.

"Now they're jumping on the bag-wagon," he said.

The council is not expected to take up the bag-ban proposal again until it completes its annual budget review in May.