HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0664.169 2014-2016 Pi GOUIICI L
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Murashige, Laura
From: Graham Knopp <gpknopp@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2016 10:35 PM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Poindexter, Valerie
Subject: Bill 140 testimony
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I am submitting this testimony in support of Council Bill 140.
In consideration of the purpose of this bill, we have to ask if it will be effective in reducing the problem of
pollution of the oceans. Any reasonable person understands that pollution of the ocean is a serious problem
detrifmental to marine life already under pressure from human activities on so many sides. The answer clearly
is, "probably." But what is more, packaging eventually has to change into forms that are reuseable,
recycleable, or at least compostable and biodegradeable. This ban would at least achieve the latter, and since all
waste is not managed responsibly, we can at least ensure that that irresponsibly disposed of waste does not
pollute the oceans, should it find its way there.
The County will certainly feel proud of themselves for having legislated a policy that makes Hawaii County
appear forward thinking, discarding the old, fossil-fuel derived food containers for ones that are made out of
plant material. But where would these containers originate from? Probably some factory in California, or
maybe even mainland China. These new materials must meet the ASTM standard D6868, however, which
stipulates that the containers can be "coated" with plastic. So it would seem that this bill doesn't really force a
movement away from fossil-fuel derived containers completely, and obviously is therefore misleading.
I don't think cost to vendors is a serious issue as the cost would be borne equally by different vendors.
Protection of marine life is an important issue, however, this bill is an incremental improvement in terms of
waste improvement, as these biodegradable containers are actually engineered to be composted as per ASTM
6400. So, the County of Hawaii will be continuing the senseless practice of putting compostable materials,
including green waste from many transfer stations, into the landfills. These compostable items should ideally
be separated into streams that can be composted and those that can be digested anaerobically for energy
production via biogas. If the County of Hawaii wants to be truly forward-thinking in a way that will show
people that we really value our resources it will require separation of all organic wastes and appropriate
processing, not just landfill disposal.
In summary, let us, by all means, protect marine life. But let's also make real improvements with the way we
manage waste. ,r
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With Aloha,
Graham Paul Knopp, Ph.D.
Honokaa, Hawaii
Graham Paul Knopp, Ph.D.
Myounghee Noh&Associates LLC
200 Kohola Street
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
(808) 938-8583 mobile
(808) 935-8727 office
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