HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0664.165 2014-2016 PkouNcxt.
Como. (04-
Murashige Laura
From: nikki spencer <nikki_spencer@yahoo.com>
CD
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2016 7:43 AM
To: Council Testimony; Kanuha, Dru; Paleka, Daniel ry
Subject: PLEASE pass Bill 140 for the Health of the PEOPLE and the OCEAN"
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Dear Councilman Kanuha, Councilman Paleka, and the entire Council,
Styrofoam both costs less and costs more.. here's why. We live in Waimea, and on a night when we
are too busy, we want to go up to YONG's and pick up food. Since doing research on styrofoam
years ago, we and other health conscious people stopped going to YONG's for take out, because
they use toxic styrofoam products for very hot soups. We only go to YONG's a fraction as much, as
we now have to take the time to eat there instead of head home. We have spoken to many friends
who don't want to ingest any carcinogen that they don't have to, and they too have stopped doing
take out from anyplace that uses styrofoam.
All styrene products are harmful to human and environmental health. From
manufacturing to quick disposal, the process is full of health risks. These products are
used in high volumes—an estimated 25 billion Styrofoam cups are discarded each year—
and the environmental and health impacts are enormous. A 1986 EPA report named
polystyrene manufacturing as the fifth-largest creator of hazardous waste. In addition,
styrene and Styrofoam products are often discarded as litter, and it is notorious for
breaking up into pieces that choke animals and clog their digestive systems, and it is a
significant ingredient in our 'great pacific garbage patch', a gyre—now twice as big as the
state of Texas—of toxic plastic refuse that has been reduced to small particles and enters
the food chain after it is consumed by marine animals.
From Mommygreenest.com: Frankly, styrene—also known as polystyrene, and better
known as Styrofoam—terrifies me. It takes 500+ years to degrade, dissolves into tiny bits
that end up in the ocean, is rarely recyclable, and last year it was assessed as
"reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen" by the government.Sep 19, 2013
It will be a boon to restaurants wanting to attract our visitors who are used to compostable
ware, and a gift to all those of us who
are working to keep ourselves, Our children, and our oceans healthy.
Mahalo nui for supporting this bill, in keeping with the Hawaiian Traditional Ecological
Knowledge (TEK).
Nikki Spencer Comm Noa (`tl ( _
Organic Farmer S.Kona HI Ref. To:
Ref. Date U 2 f
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