If you love the ocean and care about the health of Hawai‘i’s coral reefs and marine ecosystems, we at The Kohala Center have a simple request: check your sunscreen.
By now you’ve likely heard the news that the Hawai‘i State Legislature passed a bill earlier this month banning the local sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate—two chemicals known to inhibit the growth and reproduction of coral reefs—beginning January 1, 2021. But you don’t have to wait two and half years to make a difference: you can help Hawai‘i’s coral reefs by replacing your chemical-based sunscreens with mineral-based sunscreens and protective garments right away.
Watch: Reefs at Risk: What’s in your sunscreen?
A healthy coral (left) and the same coral 14 days after exposure to oxybenzone
When we launched a reef-friendly sun protection campaign at our Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (KBEC) earlier this year, many people asked, “What should I do with my bad sunscreen?” Throwing it in the trash, or continuing to use it even if you don’t set foot in the ocean, can still result in these harmful chemicals finding their way into our aquatic environments.
But there’s good news for Hawai‘i Island residents and visitors: we can take care of it for you. Thanks to our ongoing partnership with the County of Hawai‘i, The Kohala Center received a permit allowing us to turn over any chemical-based sunscreen to the County, and they will dispose of it in an environmentally friendly manner, free of charge.
Our first delivery to the County will take place on June 5, but we will work with the County to deliver collected sunscreens on a quarterly basis. Please drop off your chemical-based sunscreens at any of the following locations:
KAILUA-KONA: Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center, 78-6710 Ali‘i Dr (map)
Drop-off hours: Every day, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
WAIMEA: The Kohala Center, 65-1291 Kawaihae Rd, Ste A (map)
Drop-off hours: anytime (collection box by front entrance)
HILO: Big Island Invasive Species Council, 23 E Kawili St (map)
Drop-off hours: Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
HĀWĪ: Kohala Grown Market, 55-3419 Akoni Pule Hwy (map)
Drop-off hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
We will continue collecting chemical-based sunscreens at these locations and hope to expand collection sites to other communities on Hawai‘i Island. Follow The Kohala Center and Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center on Facebook to stay informed about future collection dates and locations.
Which sunscreens are reef-friendly?
Some of the sunscreen collected at our beach cleanup and sunscreen swap at Kahalu‘u Bay on April 14, 2018
It’s easy to determine whether a sunscreen is reef-friendly or not: look at the active ingredients. If the sunscreen lists oxybenzone, avobenzone, homosalate, octinoxate, octisalate, octocrylene, and/or nanoparticles as active ingredients, it’s best to avoid it—even if you don’t plan on swimming or snorkeling. (These ingredients will wash off in the shower, and are even absorbed into your skin and passed through your urine, so they could eventually end up in the ocean.)
Reef-friendly sunscreens are mineral-based, listing non-nano zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as active ingredients.
Check out our Reef-Friendly Sunscreen Guide
A word of caution: Some sunscreens claiming to be “reef-friendly” or “reef-safe” actually aren’t, and several manufacturers sell reef-friendly and non-reef-friendly products, so always review the active ingredients to be sure.
About the campaign
To commemorate Earth Day this year, we launched our reef-friendly sun protection campaign at Kahalu‘u Bay on April 14, partnering with the Surfrider Foundation Kona Kai Ea Chapter and Oxybenzone-Free Hawai‘i Island to host a beach cleanup and sunscreen swap. The campaign includes daily on-site education at Kahalu‘u Bay, promotion of protective clothing and mineral-based sunscreens, and outreach to area residents and businesses.
Read more: Big Island: Saving Reefs One Sunscreen Container At A Time (Honolulu Civil Beat, April 20, 2018)
Dr. Craig Downs trains KBEC staff and volunteers how to collect and prepare water samples to ship to his lab for analysis
As part of the campaign, we’ll also track the impact of our education efforts by measuring the levels of oxybenzone in Kahalu‘u Bay over a 12-month period. Dr. Craig Downs, a noted forensic ecotoxicologist and executive director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Virginia, visited us at our Earth Day event, leading and training KBEC staff and volunteers how to collect samples properly and prepare them for shipment to his lab. We expect the baseline lab results early this summer, and will re-test next spring.
“Many chemicals in sunscreens can be highly toxic to the larvae of coral, fish, sea urchin, and limu (seaweed),” Downs said. “These sunscreen poisons prevent the next generation from recruiting into an area, especially an area previously degraded by an El Niño bleaching event. Removing these poisons from an area gives a reef a chance to recover and will help to conserve the coral reef organisms already there and allow for the damaged reef to be restored.”
Downs and a team from his lab were the first to make the correlation between coral die-off and oxybenzone exposure 13 years ago; since then he has devoted his career to investigating the effects of chemicals found in many consumer products on marine life and conducting water tests at popular bays and beaches. He has taken water samples at several popular swimming and snorkeling spots on Maui, and Kahalu‘u Bay is the first site on Hawai‘i Island to have its water tested. 
Want to help Kahalu‘u Bay?
Become a ReefTeach volunteer! Help us educate visitors, swimmers, snorkelers, and divers on how to protect the delicate corals at Kahalu‘u Bay and beyond. Healthy reefs are essential to the vitality and abundance of our marine life. Volunteers set their own schedules and spend time at the beach! What could be better? We also offer Adopt-a-Day and Train-the-Trainer programs for businesses and schools. Contact Kathleen Clark at kclark@kohalacenter.org or 808-887-6411 for more information.
Upcoming Events
June 4–7
Kū ‘Āina Pā Summer Intensive: School learning gardens as a platform for ʻāina-based education using the Hawai‘i School Garden Curriculum Map as a guide
Hilo, Hawai‘i Island
June 6–8
Kū ‘Āina Pā Summer Intensive: School learning gardens as a platform for ʻāina-based education using the Hawai‘i School Garden Curriculum Map as a guide
Windward, Leeward, and Honolulu, O‘ahu
June 4–8 and June 18–22
Sustainable Agriculture Program for High School Students
Honoka‘a, Hawai‘i Island
June 30
Hoa ‘Āina Day: Outplanting native plants
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. • Waimea, Hawai‘i Island
June 30
Cover Crop Field Day: Lecture, farm tours, and soil health demonstrations
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. • Honoka‘a, Hawai‘i Island
June 30
Grow Me the Money: Record-keeping principles and best practices
3 to 6 p.m. • Pāhala, Hawai‘i Island
July 17
Grow Me the Money: Business capitalization and funding sources
3 to 6 p.m. • Pāhala, Hawai‘i Island
July 21
Hoa ‘Āina Day: Outplanting native plants
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. • Waimea, Hawai‘i Island
August 9–11
‘Aimalama: A Mauliauhonua Experience
Kahului, Maui