Facing economic hardship, restaurants urge city to ease plastic utensils ban

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - In the final meeting for most of the current Honolulu City Council members, they urged the mayor and legislature to pay more attention to small businesses who are still struggling amid the ongoing pandemic.

They heard testimony from gym and restaurant owners encouraging leaders to find a way to ensure economic longevity and sustainability.

Among the suggestions, the restaurant association urged the city to back off on a ban on plastic and foam utensils which is to take effect on Jan. 1.

“We are facing costs that are double and triple the replacement for the plastic utensils, and their availability (is also challenging) because of the global pandemic,” Victor Lim of the Hawaii Restaurant Association said.

The council also urged the legislature to quickly approve lower penalties for mask violations so police would be more willing to give tickets, and violators more likely to be fined.

Mayor Caldwell also attended, and shared a personal thank you to the members of the council.

“We’ve served alongside each other for eight years and I’ve very proud of our accomplishments. I’m gonna miss all of you. And I want to thank you for caring so much to make our administration a better administration and to make our island the best place you can find anywhere in the world,” he said.