HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0509.002 2024-2026P / CF\Cor-
00414.5a{
From: Tanya Anne
Sent: Monday, October 6, 2025 3:50 PM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather; Kagiwada, Jennifer; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba,
Holeka; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; Hustace, James; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; On sshi, D"
Subject: Public Comment on Comm 509 � Z:c
Aloha, Members of the Communications, Reports, and Council Oversight Committee,
1 appreciate the County's efforts toward environmental stewardship, waste reduction and sustainabrNmat'ials
management. I look forward to reviewing the update by Perpetual and Zero Waste Hawai'i Island regarding the
Hilo Reusable Foodware Project.
Science journalist Matt Simon, in his book A Poison Like No Other- How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet
and Our Bodies, documents how plastic has become an invisible toxin. Plastic breaks down into microscopic
fragments that now contaminate our rain, air, oceans, soil, and even human placentas. These microplastics
absorb and ]each toxic chemicals — endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, and neurotoxins — and have been
found in every organ system tested.
So, in general, I am supportive of the County's encouragement to initiate a re -use lifestyle over single -use
plastics. I am cautious, however, and urge us to not enter into a phase of normalizing plastics or
bioplastics as a re -use material. Nearly everything is already plastic, and our entire ecosystem is at risk now.
Replacing single -use plastics with multi -use plastics will continue to feed our dependence on a convenience
lifestyle and on a material that is already poisoning our bodies and our ecosystem.
As Matt Simon states:
"... newfangled materials aren't going to solve the microplastics crisis: the farthest upstream we can go
is majorly curtailing the production of plastics. That's how we fix this crisis -full stop.
Some reuse frameworks, like PR3 and others, have good intentions but risk normalizing thicker, heavier
plastics marketed as "reusable." Without strict durability, reuse counts, and recovery infrastructure, these
systems can increase total plastic mass and carbon impact. Reuse only delivers genuine environmental benefit
when it is:
• Plastic -free or plastic -minimal,
• Used enough times to offset manufacturing impacts (20-100+ cycles), and
• Supported by robust washing and return systems.
Otherwise, "reusable" plastics become another layer of greenwashing — shifting the problem but definitely not
solving it.
Mahalo for the work being done on this issue.
Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian
Hilo, HI
Comm. V(L-7
Ref. To:
Ref. Date OCT 2025