taking home sand
 

Is it legal to bring home small bottles of sand from the various beaches in Hawaii? My daughter has been collecting sand in small bottles from various vacations and now that she heard about the different color sands in Hawaii, she wants to bring some home. I don't want to get in trouble at the airport if this isn't legal.

Where is home?

My daughter's math teacher wanted some hawaiian sand from her. She took a little in a zip lock baggie for him. It went through everything fine all the way to VA.

As long as it's a small amount, it should be fine.

PS. If you're afraid of a problem, pack it real tight and put it in your checked luggage.

Oh, I thought you wanted to take it to another country and was wondering if that was possible. A small water bottle will hold sand nicely.

I brought sand home to NC from Hawaii, by putting a very small amount (a spoonful or so) into a ziploc bag and then writing on the bag the beach I gathered it.

I have probably 6 or 7 ziploc bags with my photos of that trip.

Be sure to bring home some lava rocks as well!

We just returned from Maui with 5 water bottles full of sand, which we put in our checked baggage. The agricultural inspector saw it in the x-ray machine and had us take the bottles out to show they were in fact sand and not something else (I don't know what would have been contraband). The woman behind us had rocks in her bag, and she had to take them out for inspection, too. Apparently they are checking for insects. But they let us have our bottles back after they inspected them.

If you want just small amounts, use those clear 8 day pill containers, and write the beach name on top with a sharpy pen. Some containers are larger than others.

Egad folks!

While it may not be illegal to remove a natural resource from a beach, as a resident of the islands I've gotta ask:
How would you feel if tourists to your area, took home some of your natural resources too??

If you're superstitious, taking sand or rock from Hawaii can bring you bad luck. Some people have even sent sand and rock BACK to Hawaii that they had taken from the islands because bad luck hit them like a rock. Native Hawaiians consider every grain of Hawaii as sacred, and frown upon visitors taking any of it.

Actually, it is illegal to take more than a small amount of sand home-is it a quart? to prevent major use by homeowners and contractors- but a tablespoon or so is legal.

I have never heard of any superstition regarding beach sand. Heck, We probably took home a cup or two everytime we went to the beach with our kids, no matter how much I nagged them to brush their feet and shake their towels!

I think the lava rocks are actually illegal to take. I know that it is supposed to be bad luck, Pele does not like it!

I have been taking home small amounts of sand or dirt from various travel destinations for years. I use plastic film containers and have never been stopped or questioned by anyone except my kids who think I am crazy.

I kind of like the philosophy of "Take nothing but photographs".

My sister brought me back sand and water in empty prescription bottles from her honeymoon in the Bahamas back in 1965. I was only 13 and I wanted sand and water from "where the Beatles were" (filming HELP). The water evaporated over time but I think I still have the bottle of sand in a box somewhere.

I second that, Weasel - take nothing but photographs.

Seetheworld - Home is near Chicago, Illinois.

I asked because I had heard that you aren't supposed to bring anything home from Hawaii that might also bring insects or other parasites home (that is why plants and such are checked).

I had also heard about it being bad luck as well.

In the past, when we've traveled to other beach areas is take a small medicine bottle and what probably amounts to a tablespoon of sand home. She has a larger bottle that she keeps adding to - kinda like those layered colored sand bottles you see. It's just a memory thing.

I totally see AuntieMaria's side and will have to see if I can find something else for her to collect from our travels. We just don't like the spoons, shot glasses and other usual soulveniers.

Thanks for all your input!

I'm with auntiemaria. Take home your pictures, memories and purchased trinkets. If you bring home sand and after 40 years you think it's in a box "somewhere" just what is the point of taking it? Don't get it, sorry.

I too agree with auntiemaria - if every tourist that went there took sand and rocks there wouldn't be much left for the rest of us to enjoy after a while. I agree - "take only photos" - and if you HAVE to have sand or rocks, they do sell little bags and jars of it in the souvenir shops - I have a little bag of sand & sea shells my mom sent me once when she went to Maui - that way you're not taking away from the local's and the rest of us and you're helping to support the area as well.

BashfulV, you read my mind. Sure, our Cape Cod beaches have problems with erosion, but I can't help but wonder just how much of the sand has gone home in a baggie....

In Hawaii, there is also the tiki doll bad luck curse. Remember, Greg Brady found out the hard way. :)

Traveling w/either sand or rocks is more than likely to get you some extra security scrutiny. Recently, returning from Montserrat, my wife had packed some rock & ash samples from the volcano for her classroom & we got pulled out of line. Once we told them what it was, no problem. Just an FYI.

Aren't tchotchkes the most wonderful decorating accessory?

So let me get this straight:
It is OK to fly in a jet plane to an Island. It is OK to take a gas-powered taxi to your hotel (which is built on what used to be a wetland). It is OK to flush your hotel room's toilet multipe times during your stay. It is OK to go out to eat and sample the local seafood (that as often as not is not exactly caught or farmed in an environmentally friendly manner). But god forbid you take a vial of sand off the beach? The "if everyone did it" argument is a joke-everyone DOESN'T do it, only a small number do. Provide a scientific reference that links tourists collecting sand to beach erosion or other environemtal damage, please. Or give it up.

I am with AuntieMaria, but... is the sand sold as souvenirs? I know in SF they have something like seashells on sand in small bottles.

Sorry Bashful, I missed your post. Sure, spend a couple of $$ not to worry about legality.

I'm wondering where that sand comes from that they sell in the shops.

I hope, from some designated areas... mining holes? ;)

I'm with Larry. Regarding buying the little bags of sand in a store ("Beach in a Bag" or somesuch), I spent more than enough in 10 days on Maui to "support the locals." I live in Orlando, where the aquifer will be depleted in less than 15 years. We're not asking tourists not to use water.

Yea Larry!
My sister brought home a small hand blown jar in which she had placed a few tablespoons of sand from Israel for each family member.
I kept it displayed for many years.
It was pretty and special to her... which made it special to me.
That's good enough.

I must confess to having taken sand from a Hawaiian beach. I pulled my swimming trunks out of my luggage and sand poured out everywhere. I fear there was some small amount in my sneakers, too.

TheWeasel wrote: << I kind of like the philosophy of "Take nothing but photographs". >>

I agree and add, "Leave nothing but footprints."

Woody

Hee hee.....that last post reminded me of a friend in Rio. He had been at the beach all day, then went straight to a party. At the party, the guys started getting a little rowdy, and when another friend pulled out a camera, the first guy turned to moon him. As he pulled down his pants, a ton of sand poured out onto the coffee table! That was pretty classic.

Wow, I never thought about this before. I took home a small ziplock baggie of green sand from the Big Island without even thinking about the legality of it.

I tried to look this up on the internet, and I think taking small amounts of sand is allowed, but I might have needed a permit first, depending on the island.

Hawaii Revised Statutes section 205A-44 says that "The mining or taking of sand, dead coral or coral rubble, rocks, soil, or other beach or marine deposits from the shoreline area is prohibited with the following exceptions: (1) The taking from the shoreline area of the materials, not in excess of one gallon per person per day, for reasonable, personal, noncommercial use, provided that stricter provisions may be established by the counties."

So I could take up to one gallon per day, unless the counties have stricter laws. The only county I could look up on the internet was Honolulu, which has an ordinance:

"Except as authorized by permits, and subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the department of parks and recreation, it is unlawful for any person, within the limits of any public park, to: (1) Cut or remove any wood, plant, grass, soil, rock, sand or gravel." Also, "public park" includes "beaches." This is ordinance 10-1.

So, on the island of Oahu, it looks like I can take sand, but that I would need a permit from the county first.

That doesn't tell me about the green sand or black sand of the Big Island, because I could not find that info on the internet. Maybe someone else knows?

oh, my. how illegal is it? is it a petty misdemeanor or....?

Looking at section 10-1.6 of the Honolulu oridnances, it looks like a fine of not more than $500.00 or by imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both. The site I found this at is: http://www.honolulu.gov/refs/roh/10.htm

But again, I don't know about the other islands. The only time I've taken sand was from the Big Island. I never even considered that it might be illegal (but the ordinances might be different from Honolulu anyway)?

Uh-oh, I just found the Hawaii county rules. "Except as otherwise provided by law, no unauthorized person shall remove sand, coral, rocks, soil, or other beach composition from any County beach park." Penalty is a fine of up to $1,000, or 90 days in jail, or both; plus, cost of the proceedings and any damages to the property. It seems even stricter than Honolulu.

Did I admit earlier that I took sand? Um . . . can I take that back and say "just kidding?" At least now I know.

On K`auai appears they've found a solution, instead of taking sand how bout taking <font color="red">dirt<font color="black"> as a souvenir (e.g. www.dirtshirt.com)((?)) It's even claimed to bring good luck (e.g. <font color="blue">alohafolks.com/reddirt.html<font color="black">)

((I))perhaps soon on the BI <font color="green">dirt <font color="black">shirts to appear, etc.

:?...and don't forget the ~:&gt;jerky </font></font></font></font></font></font>