HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0064.060 2010-2012 Page 1 of 2
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Murashige, Laura
From: Donna R. Goodale [donna @goodale.org]
Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 6:57 PM 77 t {{ j' ,'
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To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: FW: Testimony for Bill # 17
From: Alaina Bradley [mailto:alainabradleyl4 @gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 20113:10 PM
To: counciltestimony @co.hi.hawaii.us
Cc: dgoodale @hualalai.org
Subject: Testimony for Bill # 17
Testimony for Bill # 17 ( Plastic Bag Reduction)
Alaina Bradley
14 years old
8th grade
P.O. Box 5379
Kailua Kona, Hawaii, 96740
You are at the grocery store checking out. The bagger asked paper or plastic? You say
plastic because you think you are not killing any trees. You think it is better for the environment.
You think to yourself I WILL recycle this plastic bag. Or you don't think about it at all. In one
year Americans use 380 billion plastic items. Of that 1 -2 % is recycled. You don't think about the
affect it has. It kills our marine life. It destroys our land. If we don't do something soon we will
be suffocating in plastic bags. No Escape, no happy place, just one giant landfill!!
The room we have in our landfill is scarce. Most of the items in the landfill are a plastic
bag. We can change this by using reusable bags. Reusable bags save 40% more energy. They
also save this....... 80% less solid waste, 94% less waterborne waste, 18 million liters of oil, and
70% less atmospheric discharge. Reusable bags have one bad thing riding behind them.... It cost
more to make reusable bags then it does to make a plastic bag. The cost to make ONE reusable
bag is the same cost to make 400 plastic bags. Plastic bags are made out of polyethylene.
Polyethylene is an oil product, and oil is very cheap.
Comm. No.
2/15/2011 Ref. To: Pro&& , w
Ref. Date FEB 16 2011
Page 2 of 2
A turtle is swimming through the water. She is avoiding her predators, and looking for
some more food. Little did it know that she just ate a plastic bag. She thought she was avoiding
her predators but she just ate one. Over 1 million marine animals die each year due to plastic
bags. It is estimated that 46,000 pieces of trash are floating in every square mile in the ocean.
The costs of these horrible plastic bags are very low. That is why so many companies use
them. Polyethylene cost $.50 per pound. The cost to make ONE plastic bag is 2/10 of a cent. You
get five bags for one cent. Material is 90% of the cost, and manufacturing is 10% of the cost. The
reason why most companies don't recycle plastic bags is it cost $4,000 to recycle one ton of plastic.
They can only sell it for $32. There is just no winning. It takes 100 -1,000 years for a plastic bag to
decompose.
Lets tax these horrible things!!!! Or ban them! Ireland taxed plastic bags at $0.15 per bag.
The rate went 90 %!!!!! They saved 18 million liters of oil a year. These places have also banned
or taxed plastic bags, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, the U.K, and China. China
used 3 billion plastic bags A DAY. Worldwide we used 1 trillion bags. Hawaii is next. Let's hope
in 20 years the Earth it will be a beautiful place with no plastic bags, instead of what it is now. One
giant plastic bag.
-- This message has been checked by ESVA and is believed to be clean.
2/15/2011