HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0064.195 2010-2012Murashige, Laura
From:
Sent:
To:
Nakamura, Alan Y (Retail) [AIan.Y.Nakamura @tsocorp.com]
Monday, November 07, 2011 3:59 PM
'counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us'
Attachments: Testimony against Bill 17.pdf
Page 1 of 1
Pi Wlitlett.
huU?UC �uWP_ -1,
To the Members of the Hawaii County Council,
Please carefully consider my opposition to Bill 17. Inasmuch as I support getting products out of the waste
stream, a bag fee will undoubtedly do more to change people's habits than a plastic bag ban.
Thank you for your support and understanding!
Comm. No. V 9�
Ref. To: P' G
Ref: Date ,_4ioV 1-5 -Z04 =—
11/9/2011
Dear Dominic Yagong, Chairperson and Members of the Hawai'i County Council,
Speaking as a concerned citizen, I urge you to not pass Bill 17. Instead, please consider a
bill that would decrease the amount of single use bags used instead of just shifting
consumers to more costly paper bags.
Why plastic bags should not be banned:
• Production of paper bags generates 70% more air pollutants and 50 times more
water pollutants than plastic bags.
• Paper bags are 6 to 8 times more voluminous than plastic bags. Shipping costs are 6X
greater. Also, plastic bags are manufactured on Oahu and paper bags are not.
• Plastic bags consume less than 4% of the water needed to make paper bags. It takes
5,527 cubic meters of water to produce 100 million paper bags.
• Plastic bags are far less expensive than paper in both cost per case, and cost of shipping.
A typical plastic bag costs about a penny to produce, a paper one about 6 -10 cents and a
compostable bag about 8 -12 cents.
• The ULS San Francisco survey found that all food chains affected by the ordinance had
switched to paper bags only. There was NO increase in reusable bag use.
• In order to avoid having consumers pay more for food by forcing retailers to switch
from plastic to paper bags, which are actually less environmentally friendly, we should
reduce use of bags by implementing a fee on all single use bags. This will encourage
customers to bring their own bags when shopping and bring revenue to the County.
Why we should implement a fee on ALL single use bags:
• A tax on shopping bags in Ireland has cut their use by more than 90% and raised
millions of euros in revenue, the government says.
• The Republic of Ireland's tax of 15¢ per bag was introduced as an attempt to curb litter,
and the improvement was immediate, said Environment Minister Martin Cullen.
• Within the first month of Washington D.C.'s 5¢ per bag tax on retailers and restaurants,
the average monthly number of bags used in D.C. decreased over 80% from 22.5
million bags to just 3 million.
• Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty points out that the tax on plastic bags is to encourage
shoppers to avoid the tax by using reusable shopping bags.
Mahalo Nui Loa for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Alan Y. Nakamura
1/7A