HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0482.192 2024-2026Recycle Hawaii c
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RE: IN STRONG SUPPORT OF BILL 83 _,
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Aloha Chair Holeka and Members of the Hawaii County Council,
We begin by thanking you all for the time and energy you have put into considering this
bill. We are especially grateful to Councilmembers Villegas, Galimba and Kagiwada for
additional efforts they have made to both craft and perfect the bill.
In our own efforts to address the public health and environmental crisis created by a
proliferation of plastic consumption and wastage, Recycle Hawaii has been active at
every possible level, from engaging in the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations convened
by the United Nations to manning sort stations at local events. Our organization's
commitment to provide leadership on this issue continues to send me across the
globe, and throughout these travels I make it a point to ask those I meet, those who are
not in town for the same reason I am, those who are serving me food or giving me a lift
to the airport, if they "know about plastic." In some ways what I am about to share is
encouraging, in other ways it is tragic. Not a single person answers, "no."
Everyone... from the Uber driver that has just arrived in Canada from Afghanistan
under a program that protects those who supported the U.S. war effort there, to the
person printing out my boarding pass at the Seattle Airport, to the Gen X'er wearing
plastic elf ears at the Renaissance Faire... everyone I ask knows that plastic is
invading our bodies and fouling our planet. And while they might be shocked to learn
that gum is made of plastic, or that they are consuming microplastics every time they
drink from a PET water bottle, they are fully aware that plastic pollution represents a
health crisis. What they don't know is what can be done about it.
What can be done about it is what we are doing here and now. Bill 83 is what we can
do about it. It's what you can do about it. The result of the concerted effort being made
by environmental and social justice organizations, as well as government agencies that
have not been captured by the fossil fuel and plastics industries, is a deep and broad
agreement that the only solution to plastic pollution is a steep reduction in plastic
production and consumption... at least 75%. Bill 83 represents an effective strategy to
reduce demand for plastic by eliminating usages for which convenient and affordable
alternatives to fossil fuel plastic exist.
While we are fully aware that bioplastics come with their own environmental impact,
these impacts pale in comparison to the damage being done by toxic microplastics,
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which is why we support the usage of bioplastics as a transitional material until other
nontoxic and environmentally sound materials can effectively displace them.
It is important here for us to address the widely shared misconception that compostable
food ware cannot be managed outside the landfill until the county builds a commercial
composting facility. This assertion undermines progress towards achieving our plastic
pollution reduction and compost proliferation goals primarily because it is based on an
untenable presumption that bioplastics are an inalienable component of the organic
resource stream, but also because there are other ways to break down BPI -certified
bioplastics. This can be done in in -vessel composting machines, or by shredding these
materials and adding them to piles that are raised to a high enough temperature.
Further, the most promising substitute for bio- and fossil fuel plastics, PHB, is backyard
compostable and doesn't need any special treatment. PHB is the material the black
AirCarbon straws found at many local restaurants and hotels throughout the state are
made from. Finally, there is a great deal of innovation in this space around food ware
made from natural materials like leaves. Hawaii is well positioned to create a cottage
industry in response to demand for these products.which are readily composted through
low tech approaches via a network of community -scale composting operations.
Hawaii Island is home to a robust, albeit informal, network more than capable of
composting the materials generated when Bill 83 passes, especially those materials
generated at events, which is going to be the frontline for the bill's impact. Through our
own EPA funded program in Ka'u, students have diverted about 20,000 pounds of
organic materials. Organics do not have to end up in the landfill, they can be composted
here, now. Passage of the bill will compel the county to collaborate with those actively
engaged in diverting organic materials in ways that formalize their activities.
Clearly the public and the private businesses impacted by the bill's passage will need
support. Recycle Hawaii stands ready to provide that support. We will once again apply
for a Waiwai Grant that would fund the direct provision of such services and subsidies to
event organizers and businesses as they move towards compliance with the bill's
provisions. Our efforts in Ka'u under the EPA Recycling Education and Outreach grant
program will continue there until the program ends in 2026.
Mahalo for your efforts to advance the cause of eliminating plastic pollution. We ask that
the commission submit a favorable recommendation to the council reaardina oassaae of
Kristine Kubat
Executive Director
Recycle Hawaii
808-747-4246
director@recyclehawaii.org
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