2021-08-25 EMC agenda item 5-b(1) - HB1316_TESTIMONY_EEP_02-09-21_

Home

185 Admiral Cochrane Drive Suite 105 Annapolis, MD 21401 Tel (410) 694-0800 Fax (410) 694-0900 www.flexpack.org Testimony in OPPOSITION to House Bill 1316 in Hawaii House Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection on February 9, 2021 The Flexible Packaging Association (FPA) is submitting testimony in opposition to HB1316A responsibility act for packaging and paper. I am Alison Keane, President and CEO of FPA, which represents flexible packaging manufacturers and suppliers to the industry in the U.S. Flexible packaging represents $33.6 billion in annual sales; is the second largest, and fastest growing segment of the packaging industry; and employs approximately 80,000 workers in the United States. Flexible packaging is produced from paper, plastic, film, aluminum foil, or any combination of these materials, and includes bags, pouches, labels, liners, wraps, rollstock, and other flexible products. These are products that you and I use every day including hermetically sealed food and beverage products such as cereal, bread, frozen meals, infant formula, and juice; as well as sterile health and beauty items and pharmaceuticals, such as aspirin, shampoo, feminine hygiene products, and disinfecting wipes. Even packaging for pet food uses flexible packaging to deliver fresh and healthy meals to a variety of animals. Flexible packaging is also used for medical device packaging to ensure that the products packaged, diagnostic tests, IV solutions and sets, syringes, catheters, intubation tubes, isolation gowns, and other personal protective equipment maintain their sterility and efficacy at the time of use. Trash and medical waste receptacles use can liners to manage business, institutional, medical, and household waste. Carry-out and take- out food containers and e-commerce delivery, which are increasingly important during this national emergency, are also heavily supported by the flexible packaging industry.