HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0663.009 2008-2010 ,4 w
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Honorable J Yoshimoto, Chair -{
h . Hawaii County Council --r
14, #'�' 25 Aupuni St, Suite 1402 r
„� Hilo, Hi 96720 m
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Aloha Honorable J Yoshimoto: Re: Bill 193 Relating to Plast
Bag Reduction
ALL VEGETARIAN
Organic & Natural Down to Earth ALL VEGETARIAN Organic & Natural has been using
biodegradable plastic bags as an environmentally sound solution to the plastic
Corporate Office bag dilemma, and your Bill 193 relating to plastic bag reduction would prohibit
P.O. Box 1166 us from using them in the future. I am writing to ask for your consideration of
Kailua, HI 96734 our solution.
Phone: (808) 484 -5890
Fax: (808) 484 -5896
corporate @downtoearth.org As you may know, Down to Earth has been a part of the Hawaii Landscape for
30 years. We are Hawaii's only all- vegetarian retailer of natural and organic
OAHU LOCATIONS foods and products, and we are the largest locally operated natural food store
Honolulu chain in the state. Our first store opened in Wailuku, Maui, in 1977. Today we
2525 South King Street have one store in Hilo, one on Maui in Kahului, and three on Oahu in Honolulu,
Honolulu, HI 947-7 Kailua and Pearlrid e We have been helping our island communities improve
Phone: (808) 947 -7678 g p g p
Fax: (808) 943 -8491 their health through natural products and by promoting a healthy lifestyle.
honolulu @downtoearth.org
Kailua Complete Biological Breakdown
201 Hamakua Drive Last Earth Day we halted the use of conventional plastic check out shopping bags
Kailua, HI 96734 in favor of bags made with biodegradable technology. They are based on a
Phone: (808) 262 -3838
Fax: (808) 263 -3788 process that causes plastic films to completely biodegrade when they are exposed
kailua @downtoearth.org to microorganisms in the environment. This process continues until the plastic
Pearlridge becomes part of the organic components of the soil, just like biodegraded sticks
98 -129 Kaonohi St. or other pieces of wood become part of the soil. This is what "biodegradable"
Aiea, Hawaii 96701 means. There are no small pieces of plastic going into the soil.
Phone: (808) 488 -1375
Fax: (808) 488 -4549
pearlridge @downtoearth.org These bags take nine months to five years to break down completely into water,
carbon dioxide, and harmless humus on land and in the ocean. This
MAUI LOCATION biodegradation process takes place with or without the presence of light or
Kahului oxygen. These factors allow for biodegradation when buried in the ground or
305 Dairy Road disposed in compost bins or landfills, which normally prevent degradation
Kahului, HI 96732
Phone: (808) 877-2661 because they become air tight.
Fax: (808) 877 -7548
kahului @downtoearth.org No O11 Used, NO Oil into the Ground
Contrary to many critics who say that plastic bags consume oil resources,
BIG ISLAND LOCATION virtually all plastic bags are made out of polyethylene, which comes from ethane
Hilo that is extracted from natural gas. There is no oil to begin with, and no oil going
303 Maka'ala Street into the environment from plastic bags.
Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 935 -5515
Fax: (808) 935 -5367 No Toxic Residue
hilo @downtoearth.org Tests by independent laboratories concluded that the films treated with the
additive used in the bags from Down to Earth (1) biodegrade as claimed and f (2)
Comm. No. 1 . 7 63
www.downtoearth.org Ref.
Ref. w>u _FE 2 7(11�-
Recycled Paper t:;';
Re. Bill 193 Relating to Plastic Bag Reduction 2
Down to Earth ALL VEGETARIAN Organic & Natural
produce NO toxic residue harmful to living organisms in land or water. We will
gladly provide copies of the reports. Just let me know if you'd like to have them.
The beauty of all this is that we now have an environmentally sound solution to
the plastic -bag dilemma using the most cost - effective biodegradable plastic
technology available today. The new bags cost only a couple cents more or less
per bag, depending on the size of the bag, so we can absorb the cost. It's a
win/win solution for business and consumers alike. Enclosed is a sample of the
biodegradable bag we are using.
The most reliable and most current definition of biodegradable plastics comes
from the American Society of Testing and Materials, D -20 Committee on
Plastics. The current definition is:
"Biodegradable Plastic: a degradable plastic in which the degradation
results from the action of naturally - occurring micro- organisms such as
bacteria, fungi, and algae." [ASTM D883 -99]:
http://bioplastics.com.sg/thqs
The ASTM D -20 Committee is currently considering revising this definition as
follows:
"biodegradable plastic, n —a plastic in which all the organic carbon can
be converted into biomass, water, carbon dioxide and/or methane via the
action of naturally occurring microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi,
in time frames consistent with the ambient conditions of the disposal
method."
There are a number of biodegradable bags on the market. In the spirit of
constructive feedback, we propose amending the bill to allow the use of
biodegradable plastic bags that conform to the following definition:
"Biodegradable plastic" means plastic in which the degradation results
from the action of naturally occurring microorganisms such as
bacteria, fungi, and algae. The ultimate products of this process should
be carbon dioxide, water, and harmless, non -toxic compost (humus) in
time frames consistent with the ambient conditions of the disposal
method."
We hope you will consider amending Bill 193so that we may continue to be able
to serve our customers using environmentally sound solutions.
Thanks for ev onsidera • n.
Fra i . Sa s . . arketing Director
Tell; •4 14
ECM latBIOFILMS j 440,1. 004.■•■,41 C,.e.M. .e...4;. j 4
Our Technology for the Biodegradation of Plastic Products
The technology is an additive which, when combined in small ECM engaged several renowned testing laboratories to inde-
quantities with any of the popular plastic resins, renders the end pendently establish the biodegradability of plastic products made
products biodegradable while maintaining their other desired with ECM's additives. The tests concluded that the products
characteristics. It is sold as ECM MasterBatch Pellets and our were fully biodegradable under both aerobic and anaerobic
Company has developed the technology to the point where most conditions. In addition, the tests concluded that their biodegrada-
plastic products manufacturers can use the additive without hav- tion did not produce any toxic residue harmful to living organ -
ing to modify their existing methods of production any more isms in land or water.
than if they were changing the product's color. The resulting
plastic products exhibit the same desired mechanical properties, Technology Explanation
have effectively similar shelf- lives, and yet, when disposed of, The plastic products made with our additives will break down
are able to be metabolized into biomass by the communities in approximately 9 month to 5 years in nearly all landfills or
of microorganisms commonly found almost everywhere on wherever else they may end up. All sorts of factors determine the
this planet. amount of microbes available in the soil and the soil conditions
determine the rate of degradation. The plastic products made
This biodegradation process can take place aerobically and with ECM technology basically rely on the microbes in the soil
anaerobically. It can take place with or without the presence of to react with the additives and form communities, biofilms,
light. These factors allow for biodegradation even in landfill which create the enzymes and acids that can attack the long -
conditions which are normally inconducive to any degradation chain hydrocarbon molecules and break them down to the point
of other technologies. Our technology differs significantly from that the microbes' natural acids and enzymes are then effective
other "degradable plastics" emerging in the market today be- and the microbes can metabolize the simple hydrocarbons with
cause it does not attempt to replace the currently popular plastic CO2 and water or methane being the waste products. This
resin formulizations but instead enhances them by rendering process continues until all the plastic product is full biodegraded.
them biodegradable
Material treated with ECM has been tested and proved as
Recognizing the environmental concerns related to plastics and biodegradable and safe for the environment by using the
the market potential, the corporate and scientific communities following:
have long sought to develop degradable plastics. However, the • ASTM D5209 "Standard Test Method for Determining the
Company believes that degradable plastics introduced to date Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials in the Presence
possess several weaknesses that have prevented wide - spread of Municipal Sewage Sludge ";
acceptance in the marketplace. Photo - degradable products, for • ISO 14855 / ASTM D5338 "Standard Test Method for
example, do not degrade in landfills due to the lack of sunlight Determining Aerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials
(they are typically covered with anothcr layer of trash before the under Controlled Composting Conditions "; and
degradation can occur). At the same time these photo - degradable • ASTM 5511 "Standard Test Method for Determining
products present difficult circumstances for storage before use Anaerobic Biodegradation of Plastic Materials Under High -
due to their reactivity to light. Similarly, plastic products manu- Solids Anaerobic Digestion Conditions ".
factured with PLA and such "renewable" replacement resins fail Where will it biodegrade?
to biodegrade as litter or in a landfill, are very expensive to • Home composting
manufacture, and often do not achieve the requisite physical • Commercial composting
properties. • Landfills
• Buried in, or in contact with the soil
ECM's technology is a process which enables the microorgan- • Erosion / Agricultural netting & film
isms in the environment to metabolize the molecular structure of • Litter
plastic products into humus that is beneficial to the environment. Where won't it degrade?
Our process utilizes several proprietary compounds that are • Warehouses
combined into a masterbatch pellet that is easily added to plastic • Store shelves
resins using existing technology. • Offices & Home
ECM BioFihns, Inc.
Victoria Place - Suite 225, 100 South Park Place, Painesville. Ohio 44077 U.S.A.
Phone: 440.350.1400 • Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 • Fax: 440.350.1444
Email: biodeg @ecmbiofilms.com Website: ecmbiofilms.com
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Mechanism for the Biodegradation of Products Manufactured with ECM MasterBatch PelletsTh'
We have determined, through years of testing both internally and This Leads us back to the reason why greater quantities of our
through independent laboratories, that plastic products that are additives do not significantly speed up the time for biodegrada-
manufactured with at least a one percent (1 %) load, by weight, tion. If you have four otherwise identical 100 kilograms of PE
of our ECM MasterBatch Pellets will fully biodegrade once they products, one with no ECM (100% PE), one with a half a percent
are placed in conditions wherein they are in constant contact of ECM (99.5% PE), one with one percent ECM (99% PE) and
with other biodegrading materials. one with seven perccnt ECM (93% PE) disposed of under the
same conditions you will see why this is.
Originally it was not known precisely what the threshold amount
of our material was necessary to initiate and sustain the process. The one with no ECM does not form the necessary biofilm and
Much of the early testing was done with plastics manufactured thereby 100 -kg of PE sits in the ground in that form for hundreds
with five percent (5 %) or higher loads of the additives but it has or thousands of years or more. The one with a half a percent of
been determined that all that is required is a minimum of a one ECM does not form the biofilm with sufficient sustainability to
percent (1 %) load. This amount will initiate the process and any initiate and continue the biodegradation process so only the very
significant amount less than this amount will not permit the surface amounts of the ECM biodegrades and you will have
process to begin or be sustained. remaining all of the 99.5 -kg of PE and most of the 0.5 -kg of
ECM for hundreds or thousands of years in that form. The prod -
People often wonder whether significantly greater quantities of uct that has the one percent of ECM will form and sustain the
our additive will reduce the biodegradation times. The answer is biofilm that will continue to break apart the long chains of the
yes, but so very marginally that it is rarely worth the potential 99 -kg of PE until the entire quantity of PE is biodegraded. The
issues concerning other physical properties in the finished plastic sample that has 7 percent ECM will do the same thing: the only
products and cost. To explain this more fully, it will be helpful to difference is that there will be only 93 -kg of the difficult -to-
understand the basics of the mechanism. biodegrade PE to degrade rather than 99 -kg. The difference in
The presence of at least one percent of our additives in a plastic biodegradation time is not terribly dramatic but it is less.
product, which is in contact with other biodegrading organic As a method of concluding, I think that it may be helpful to
materials, structures communities of such organisms as are there illustrate how the mechanism employed by this unique biodegra-
present on the surfaces of the plastic in such a way that their dation technology is an important reason as to why the technol-
interaction produces the ability to break down the long hydrocar- ogy will continue the path it is on to become one of the world's
bon chains of the "non- biodegradable" petrochemical plastics. leading technologies for the production of plastic products.
As most people are aware, an example of a biofilm would be the
scum that can form on the surface of a pond or on teeth, for that The fact that the mechanism is not based on photodegradation
matter. In the cases of most pond biofilms, the surface layers or thermal degradation means that the shelf life and usable life
with chlorophyllic, aerobic organisms can support layers of of the plastic products will be the same as they were without the
anaerobic organisms in the deeper layers and the interaction of ECM additives. The fact that there is a threshold quantity neces-
all of the organisms makes for an ecosystem that in some cases sary for the initiation and sustainability of the biofilms responsi-
produce byproducts that would not be formed without the inter- ble for the biodegradation means that the plastics with the ECM
action. The same can be said of the biofilms formed by the inter- additive do not have to be segregated out of the plastics that
action of our additive materials and the naturally existing biota. might be recycled into plastic products that are not meant to
Importantly, this structuring of communities of microorganism biodegrade. And finally, the fact that the threshold quantity is so
proceeds in anaerobic as well as aerobic conditions. low (one percent by weight) means that the manufacturer is able
to immediately make plastic products with all the same other
Once there are the structured communities of microorganisms properties they had when they were not biodegradable and at
interacting to produce schisms in the long hydrocarbon chains of nearly the same cost.
the polymers the process continues until all the hydrocarbons are
eventually transformed into the carbon dioxide and water (aero-
bic biodegradation) or carbon dioxide, methane and water
(anaerobic biodegradation).
ECM BioFilms, Inc.
Victoria Place - Suite 225. 100 South Park Place, Painesville. Ohio 44077 U.S.A.
Phone: 440.350.1400 • Toll Free in U.S.A.: 800.220.2792 • Fax: 440.350.1/111
Email: biodeg@ecmbiofilms.corn - Website: ecmbiofilms.corn