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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0482.164 2024-2026November 4, 2025 To: Hawaii County Council 11 qC-) CD From: Jason Hi a Zippy's Restaurants = �� RE: Bill 83 - Relating to Plastic and Polystyrene Waste o Position: Oppose (with recommendations) Dear Chair Inaba, Vice Chair Onishi, and Members of the Committee: My name is Jason Higa, and ],am the CEO of Zippy's Restaurants. As a local, family -owned restaurant business since 1966, 1 believe that Bill 83 would create burdens for local businesses and raise food prices -without helping the environment in a tangible way and possibly inflicting greater harm on our local environment. Hawai'i County does not have a composting facility that can process the containers required under this bill. That means even "compostable" packaging will end up in the landfill. If the County wants to ban certain materials, there should first be a system in place to process the new materials properly. Compostable foodware (including bioplastic utensils, compostable packaging, and fiber -based plates or cups) is often marketed as eco-friendly. However, if these items end up in a landfill instead of a compost facility, their environmental behavior differs starkly from expectations. Compostable Foodware in Landfill Conditions Compostable plastics and fibers are designed to biodegrade under specific conditions (usually the high heat and microbes of industrial composters): In a landfill's cold, anaerobic conditions, they do not readily turn into,soil as advertised. Key points about compostables'in landfills: • Slow or Incomplete Breakdown: Most industrial "compostable" plastics (e.g. P.LA — polylactic acid) break down very slowly in landfills, if at all. In other words, a PLA fork.or cup could persist for decades much like, conventional plastic if the landfill is dry and airless. • Methane Generation: When compostable items do biodegrade in a landfill, it happens anaerobically. That biodegradation produces methane (along with CO) as microbes breakdown the carbon.in the material. Thus, a compostable plate or cup can become a source of landfill methane, a climate risk if the gas escapes. For climate impact, 1765 SOUTH KING I HONOLULU, HI 968261 P 808.973.08801 F 808.955.70531 ZIPPYS.COM A DIVISION OF FCH ENTERPRISES, INC. CDmm. 1'Y Ref.7 :1 Ref. Oate this can be worse than conventional plastic: a conventional plastic fork won't emit methane (it doesn't biodegrade at all), whereas a compostable fork might eventually decompose and release methane if landfill conditions allow. Contamination & Toxics: Aside from methane, compostable products can pose other environmental issues in landfills. Many "compostable" fiber food containers have chemical additives (e.g. PFAS "forever chemicals" for grease resistance). These substances do not biodegrade; they can persist in the landfill leachate or environment. If leachate (the liquid that percolates through landfill waste) isn't properly treated, those chemicals could escape. Compostable plastics themselves generally don't leach known toxins as they slowly degrade — they chiefly produce organic acids, CO, and methane — but any inks or additives on the products could become contaminants. Lost Resource Value: A broader point is that when compostable items are landfilled, their intended environmental benefit is lost. From a lifecycle perspective, compostable single -use items often require more energy and resources to produce than plastic (due to agriculture, processing, etc.), so if they aren't composted at end -of -life, the net environmental burden can be higher. Conclusion When compostable foodware is disposed of in a landfill, it fails to deliver the environmental benefits it's designed for. In essence, landfills neutralize much of the "good" that compostables are supposed to do. Either they don't break down at all (meaning we've simply substituted one long-lasting waste for another), or if they do break down, they contribute to methane emissions and climate change. This is the same issue with any organic matter in landfills, which is why diverting organics to composting or digestion is so important. By comparison, conventional plastics won't emit methane but create lasting pollution; they are not a benign alternative except in that one narrow respect. From a sustainability standpoint, the implications are simply switching from plastic to compostable disposables is not a panacea if those items are just landfilled. As experts often note, the root problem is single -use culture itself. Reducing waste and improving waste management (recycling and composting systems) are key. For the items that already exist, the best outcome is to send compostable products to proper compost facilities where they will biodegrade into soil without methane. Absent that infrastructure, some jurisdictions prefer recyclable or durable plastics that at least don't generate methane in landfills (and can be recycled if systems improve). In summary, the environmental impact of compostable foodware in landfills is largely negative or negligible — not much better (and in some ways worse) than conventional plastic waste. Landfill disposal squanders the intended benefit (compost!) and can create new problems like methane emissions. The promise of compostables is only fulfilled when they are kept out of landfills entirely. Sources Scientific Studies & Journals • MDPI AppliedChem (2024) —A Comparative Review on Biodegradation of Poly (Lactic Acid) in Soil, Compost, Water, and Wastewater Environments DOI: 10.33901appliedchem5010001 Explores PLA degradation rates across environments including landfills. • Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2023) — Evaluation of Bioplastics Biodegradation Under Simulated Landfill Conditions DO I: 10.1007/s l l 356-023-30195-3 Simulates landfill conditions and tracks PLA decomposition and methane generation. Government & Regulatory Sources • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) o Frequently Asked Questions about Plastic Recycling and Composting o httPS7//www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-qas • Federal Trade Commission (FTC) o. Green Guides — 16 CFR Part 260 Defines marketing standards for "biodegradable" and "compostable" claims: Industry & Advocacy Organizations • European Bioplastics e.V. — How Do Bioplastics Behave in Landfills? Reports that most bioplastics remain inert in landfills. Upstream Solutions —Why Compostables and Bioplastics Aren't the Answer Highlights lifecycle impacts and methane risks of compostables in landfills. Journalism & Public Education • The Atlantic (2023) — Compostable Plastic Is Garbage Link to article Investigates the disconnect between compostable packaging and landfill realities. Costs of Compostable Containers During the October 21, 2025, Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources Management, the higher cost of compostable foodware and serviceware was discussed. We received the following estimates from our vendors regarding the comparative costs of our current containers. Our overall cost increase is 69.6%. Our vendors were unable to find suitable substitutes for 5 of our containers. We are happy to, provide a more specific breakdown of the costs of the containers if needed. We have provided our cost comparison details to the Hawaii County Department of Environmental Management. A cost increase of 69.6% is significant for a restaurant operation and will have an impact on customer retention for all Hawaii county restaurants who rely upon to -go foodware and serviceware. We ask the Committee to hold off on passing this bill and take more time to build the infrastructure and find solutions that truly work for our island. Mahalo for your time and consideration. Jas n Higa CEO Zippy's Restaurants