COM 0942.106 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii P.O.Box 25284 Honolulu Hawaii 96825 (808) 393 2168 www.b-e-a-c-h.org DATE: March 12, 2008 TO: Council Chairman Pete Hoffman & Council Members Hawaii County Council FROM: Suzanne Frazer & Dean Otsuki, co-chairs, Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawaii RE: WRITTEN TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF BILL 224 (in its current form) Relating To Smoking In Certain Places In The County Of Hawaii Council Hearing on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 We are writing in support of Bill 224, prohibiting smoking at all beaches and parks on the island of Hawaii. We commend the County Council for moving this measure forward in its current form. Our organization has been working hard to help prevent cigarette butt litter on beaches on the Windward side of O'ahu. Cigarette butts are the most littered item by beach goers. Last year during our Sandy Beach Earth Day litter prevention campaign, volunteers picked up over 5000 cigarette butts. Cigarette butts seriously reduce the aesthetic quality of the environment. Beaches with cigarette butt litter look trashed and uncared for which causes more littering of other rubbish items. Tourists and residents alike appreciate clean beaches. However, it's very difficult to keep beaches and the water clear of cigarette butts. Behavioural studies have shown that if a smoker is not within 3 metres of a rubbish can when they finish a cigarette, they will litter the butt. As cans could not be placed every 3 metres, the best way to keep beaches and parks clear of cigarette trash is to ban smoking there as has been done successfully at Hanauma Bay and Kahalu u Beach Park. However, the harm to the environment is not just aesthetic. Cigarette butts are toxic and harmful to marine life. Chemicals such as lead and arsenic leach out from the cigarette filter and into the marine environment within an hour of contact with water. Once butts are littered they can persist in the environment for years because they are composed of cellulose acetate, which is a form of plastic. Butts in the environment are mistaken for food by marine life. They have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine animals which leads to ingestion of hazardous chemicals, digestive blockages and death. Toddlers are also at risk from serious illness or death from ingesting cigarette butts. It is for the reasons above that we strongly encourage the Council to pass Bill 224 in its current form. This bill will go a long way in addressing protections for environmental and human health and will lead the way for other County's throughout Hawaii. Please accept this as written testimony in support of this bill. Sinc y, eemm: tie. Trt. ro~j Ref. Toles Suzanne Fra r Dean Otsuki Ref. Date MA~g