Advisory council members push for reuse/refill and flag Hawaii-specific logistics

Multiple advisory council members urged the needs assessment to prioritize reuse and refill systems and to recognize Hawaii's island-specific constraints. Stacy Omari (Hawaii Food Service Alliance) asked that planners "evaluate solutions through a Hawaii lens," citing transportation, inner-island freight and reverse logistics as key factors affecting feasibility and cost. Jennifer Navara (Zero Waste Hawaii Island) described a municipal reusable foodware pilot planned to include 100 return points in Hilo and said centralized washing and return infrastructure are critical to reuse success.

Industry and producer representatives, including Danielle Waterfield (American Institute for Packaging and the Environment) and Darla Erenss (Product Stewardship Institute), urged harmonization with mainland programs where appropriate to reduce compliance complexity for suppliers and asked the consultant team to draw on lessons learned from other states. Several recycling operators also emphasized the need to consider local end-market capacity and transportation costs when identifying candidate materials for EPR coverage.