HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0482.049 2024-2026From: Elana Jadallah
C)c->
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2025 10:57 AM
y�
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Please Support the Amendment to Chapter 20 — Ban Single -Use Plastics
Attachments: AJ7A9851.JPG
=
��
1. `7
y} T
i l
N
10
Aloha County Council Members,
My name is Elana Jadallah and I'm writing in from Kona to express my full support for the
amendment to Chapter 2o, which would strengthen prohibitions on single -use plastics and
mandate the use of recyclable or compostable foodware across Hawaii County.
This issue could not be more urgent. Our beautiful island homem one of the most biodiverse and
sacred places on Earth, is being choked by plastic. I've witnessed this for the past decade and while I
have organized many beach cleanups —pulling over a thousand pounds of plastic from our shorelines
— I know that cleanups are just a bandaid and that what we really need to do is shut off the source. We
can keep 'cleaning' our way out of this mess if as a community folks are still using single -use plastics
daily.
Polystyrene foam and single -use plastics litter our beaches, harm marine wildlife, and leach toxic
chemicals into our land, ocean and food supply. Once in the environment, these materials persist for
hundreds of years.
This is a deeply ethical issue. Hawaii has long held values rooted in mdlama `aina—the care for our
land and sea. Allowing plastic pollution to continue unabated is a betrayal of those values and a threat
to both public health and ecological balance.
This amendment isn't just smart policy —it's a necessity. It's supported by countless
environmental experts, community members, and cultural leaders who know that we cannot afford
the cost of inaction.
Please stand with us. PLEASE vote YES on the amendment to Chapter 20 to ban single -use
plastics and polystyrene foam. Our keiki, our oceans and our future depend on it. Mahalo.
With deep aloha and urgency,
Elana Jadallah
Kailua-Kona, HI, 9674o