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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0064.198 2010-2012Murashige, Laura From: Mike Nakato [mikey @kyd- inc.com] Sent: Monday, November 07, 2011 5:07 PM To: counciltestimony @co.hawaii.hi.us Subject: Testimony for the Kona Public Hearing (Nov. 15th) on Bill 17 Attachments: HFIA TESTIMONY BILL 17 BI -Kona 11 07.doc Mahalo Nui Loa for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Mike Nakato IT Manager KYD, Inc. 2949 Koapaka Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 Ph: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 833 -8995 Email: mikey @kyd - inc.com Page 1 of 1 1 nu1Vl'1a.. vavf,y � ***************************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** NOTICE: This message is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, any review, retransmission, dissemination, copying or other use of this message is strictly prohibited. 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To: Ref: Date .tia 5 f t 11/9/2011 KYD, Inc. dba k. yamada distributors An independent leader in packaging and wholesale distribution P.O. BOX 29669, Honolulu, Hawaii 96820 Phone: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 833 -8995 November 7, 2011 Mr. Dominic Yagong, Chairperson And Members of the Hawaii County Council Via email: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us Dear Dominic Yagong, Chairperson and Members of the Hawai'i County Council, The Hawaii Food Industry Association is a non - profit trade association, which represents retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and brokers, as well as other associate members that work in the food industry. This legislation harms consumers and increases their most basic cost of living, food. We urge you to not pass this bill. As an alternative, we suggest a bill that would actually decrease the amount of single use bags used, as opposed to this bill, which simply shifts consumers to paper and increases costs. We genuinely hope that you consider the following information before making a decision about this bill. Why we should NOT ban plastic bags: • Production of paper bags generates 70% more air pollutants and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags. • Paper bags are six to eight times more voluminous than plastic bags. Shipping costs are six times greater. This means that the carbon footprint to bring paper bags to the island is greater than that to import plastic bags. Moreover, 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. • The cost of foodstuffs is rising rapidly. The World Bank states that expansion of food based alternative energy and products have played a part in the doubling of the price of corn. These products also release methane into the environment, a powerful greenhouse gas, when they compost. Hawaiian t Plantations® QLPtRoils° WILL CALL, G &A, AND WAREHOUSE OFFICES: 2949 Koapaka Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 -1923 Phone: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 833 -8995 MANUFACTURING FACILITIES: 747 Umi Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 -2394 Phone: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 845 -7754 KYD, Inc. dba k. yamada distributors An independent leader in packaging and wholesale distribution P.O. BOX 29669, Honolulu, Hawaii 96820 Phone: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 833 -8995 • 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 as a result of forcing retailers to switch from plastic to paper bags, which is actually less environmentally friendly, we would suggest focusing of reduction of all single use bags by implementing a fee on all single use bags. This will bring revenue to the County. Why we should implement a fee on ALL single use bags: • A tax on shopping bags in the Republic of 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 cents per bag was introduced as an attempt to curb litter, and the improvement was immediate and "plain to see ", said Environment Minister Martin Cullen. • Washington D.C. imposed a 5 cent per bag tax on retailers and restaurants. Within the first month of the program, the average monthly number of bags used in D.C. decreased over 80% from 22.5 million bags to just 3 million. The tax has already generated substantial funds to clean up the Anacostia River. • Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty points out that the tax on plastic bags is not to charge consumers out of using bags — or to burden them financially anymore than they may be with grocery store prices — but to encourage shoppers to avoid a tax in the first place by using reusable shopping bags. Mahalo Nui Loa for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Mike Nakato IT Manager KYD, Inc. 2949 Koapaka Street Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 Ph: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 833 -8995 Email: mikey @kyd- inc.com Hawaiian t Plantations® OLD RECIPES® WILL CALL, G &A, AND WAREHOUSE OFFICES: 2949 Koapaka Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 -1923 Phone: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 833 -8995 MANUFACTURING FACILITIES: 747 Umi Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 -2394 Phone: (808) 836 -3221 Fax: (808) 845 -7754