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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0944.040 2014-2016 Margaret Wille ,:.•., Phone No. Hilo: (808)961-8027 M Council Member ' +., . Phone No. Waimea: (808)887-2043 District 9-North and South Kohala ""„‘\1.1.0�'� Fax No.: (808)887-2072 �. �.; �:�� .• �•. E-Mail: mwille@co.hawaii.hi.us ,TE Of'M►''� HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai`i Hawaii County Building Holomua Center West Hawai`i Civic Center Bldg.A 25 Aupuni Street 64-1067 Mamalahoa Highway,Suite C-5 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Waimea, Hawai`i 96743 Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i,96740 TO: Dru Mamo Kanuha, Council Chair and Members of the Hawai`i County Council z •- -•<—moi FROM: co. c:z-�C Margaret Wille, Council Membe �► -"lc” HIPSIS Task Force Chair =r" DATE: September 16, 2016 SUBJECT: Mid-Range Report of the HIPSIS Task Force. Attached is the mid-range report and appendix from the Hawai`i Island Packaging Sustainability Initiative Stakeholders (HIPSIS) Task Force. I respectfully request that this be placed on the appropriate October 4, 2016, Committee agenda. Thank you. MW/dh Att. comm.No, q ca Ref.To: Ref.Date 5., . ►(rLa 1(0 Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawai`i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer MARGARET WILLE, CHAIR County Dept.of Environmental Mgmt. Council Member • County Dept.of Research&Develop. Hawaii Food Industry Association District 9—Kohala Hawaii Paper Products rot......os tip +\\ Hawaii Restaurant Association Hawai'i Wildlife Fund DANIEL K. PALEKA JR. CO-CHAIR .':► �W::. KYD,Inc.dba K.Yamada Distributors Council Member a=;;�' _,_: Recycle Hawaii • *-.r== • . State Dept.of Business Economic Develop.&Tourism District 5—Puna Mauka .r.. o .... •>.-• State Dept.of Health Suisan Co.Ltd Surfrider Foundation Sustainable Island Products Triple F Distributing Kona HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL Hawai'i Island Packaging Sustainability Initiative Stakeholders (HIPSIS) Task Force 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 1402 I Hilo,Hawaii 96720 I Phone:(808)961-8263 I Fax:(808)961-8912 I Email:hipsis808@gmail.com SECOND HIPSIS SEPTEMBER 12, 2016 MEETING (MID-RANGE) REPORT Dated September 16, 2016 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY At its August 24, 2016 Meeting the HIPSIS Task Force decided to focus on the first two categories of objectives for the Hawai`i Island Packaging Sustainability Initiative Stakeholders Task Force (TF), to wit: 1. Identify Solutions addressing the Production and Distribution of Environmentally Friendly Products and Packaging to Improve and Reduce Product and Packaging Waste from Entering our Ocean. 2) Identify Solutions Addressing Recyclability and Environmental Sustainability Concerns. In the agenda for the September 12, 2016 meeting, Chair Margaret Wille urged thinking about these objectives in the framework of HIPSIS Resolution 565 Draft 3 goal "to work together to explore legislative actions to prevent the production of packaging waste and promote reuse, recycle, and recovery of packaging products", taking into account the timeframe for the TF. Solutions suggested by the TF members were as follows: 1) Source reduction a. promotion of zero waste as goal (including promoting the COH compost facility and requiring funding to DEM's Zero Waste outreach educational program) b. enacting extended-producer responsibility "EPR" for packaging, including what legislation is needed on the state level. c. enact the ban on the worst pollutants such as polystyrene foam (consider changing effective date to 2019? or 2020?; add a(liquid?) hot food (above 165 degrees) exception for private vendors d. enact other sustainability legislation that promotes more environmental wellbeing e. encourage other initiatives that support these efforts 2) Education a. Encourage re-usables rather than disposables (like did with plastic bag ban); such as bring own water bottle vs providing plastic disposable water bottles b. create a standard message for those educating on these issues, including moving towards disposable single use products to be compostable (need to study what will be compostable at County's new organics compost facility) c. design a curriculum for the schools (post on COH website and also focus on Department of Education/students to promote recycling on the schools - to mirror the education. Not just educating and not participating d. create brochure for local vendors (educate as to what alternatives are available) e. create more awareness of the need to focus on environmental wellbeing generally f. support voluntary certification programs, e.g. Keeping it Green Hawaii, B-Corp g. pass legislation to require the county to do Zero Waste education (like Honolulu) h. encourage county to prioritize its compost program i. find out about new compostable products recently available—such as the compostable meat trays now being used by Whole Foods, and the new sturdier compostable containers for hot foods j. encourage consumers to drive towards use of compostables/boycotts 3) Litter - best practices: urge support: [informational links added by MTV] a. malama 808 campaign—county should join [http://www.malama808.org/] b. #Litterati [http://litterati.org/] c. Endorse bi-annual island wide beach cleanup events d. Support adopt-a-highway/adopt a shoreline e. Promote a StrawWars initiative [http://resource.co/article/Wall/Straw_wars gram; http://www.sd-research.org.uk/case-studies/straw-wars] f. Identify problem areas— such as along waterways and provide more trash containers g. Identify marine waste—where did it come from/who responsible h. promote expansion of partnership programs regarding litter—such as the Matsons - HWF project—taking fishing gear with plastics to coventa(and also providing free containers to non-profits to fill with litter and they take and dispose of at landfill) 4) Government Support (State and or County) a. Subsidize difference in cost such as at one time events if use compostables (as Recycle Hawaii did through grant—where average subsidy per event was $10) b. Subsidize ZW initiatives—through competitions possibly c. Study will be deemed compostable at new compost program—to maximize d. Support funding for manufacturing compostable products, research difference in cost of importing. e. study possible EPR programs to undertake county or state-wide f upgrade transfer stations to maximize ZW efforts/ study to do g. require state to provide more funding—especially where county collects the recyclable waste and then state keeps the income from the sale of it (such as for electronics) h. incentivize cottage industries to use plastic and other waste streams here on island or within the state. II. BACKGROUND AND REVIEW OF PAST ACTIVITIES The purpose of the HIPSIS TF was established via Resolution 565-16, Draft 3, adopted unanimously by the Hawai`i County Council on August 17, 2016, during a Council meeting held in the Kona Council Chambers at the West Hawai`i Civic Center(WHCC). The HIPSIS TF held their second session on September 12, 2016, from 10:16 a.m. until 2:35 p.m. in the Puna Conference Room located on 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo; via videoconference in the Kona Conference Room at the WHCC located on 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua- Kona; and via phone conference. At this session, the following stakeholders' attendance is indicated below: ENTITY PERSON(s) POSITION(s) ATTENDANCE Hawaii County Council Margaret Wille D9 Council Member; Hilo HIPSIS TF-Chair Hawaii County Council Daniel K.Paleka,Jr. D5 Council Member; Hilo HIPSIS TF Co-Chair COIi Dept.of Environmental Mgmt. Linda Peters DEM-Recycling Coordinator Hilo (DEM) COH Dept.of Research&Develop. Ellen Cunningham R&D-Economic Development Specialist II Kailua-Kona (DRD) Hawaii Food Industry Association Lauren Zirbel Executive Director Hilo (HFIA) Tom Knox Consultant Hilo Hawaii Paper Products Hawaii Restaurant Association(HRA) Jason Higa HRA Representative; Hilo FCH Enterprises,Inc-Zippy's Restaurants CEO Hawaii Wildlife Fund Megan Lamson Vice President Hilo KYD,Inc. Dexter Yamada President Hilo dba K. Yamada Distributors Joy Gold Joy Gold Unlimited Hilo Recycle Hawaii Paul Buklarewicz Executive Director Hilo Vicki Haili Hilo State Dept.of Business Economic Wayne Thom Manager of Community Based Economic Develop.&Tourism Development Program State Dept.of Health Wendy Okazaki Solid Waste-Recycle Coordinator Hilo Suisan Co.Ltd Steve Ueda Vice President of Sales Hilo Surfrider Foundation Jonathan Wong Representing on behalf of Demian Barrios Phone Sustainable Island Products John Elkjer Owner Hilo Elizabeth Elkjer Manager Hilo Triple F Distributing Kona N/A deferred to DRD N/A deferred to DRD III. TF Discussion: Following introductions of all members present, each member made a presentation of what initiatives they recommend with regard to the first goal to "Identify Solutions addressing the Production and Distribution of Environmentally Friendly Products and Packaging to Improve and Reduce Product and Packaging Waste from Entering our Ocean". In that discussion ideas related to the second goal of "Identify Solutions Addressing Recyclability and Environmental Sustainability Concerns" were also discussed. There were numerous suggestions made in addition to those set forth above in the Executive Summary and review of the Minutes of the meeting is suggested. Task Force member Margaret Wille also passed out draft legislation 1) to reduce the use of polystyrene foam food service ware and packaging, and supporting the use of compostable food service ware and food packaging products, and 2) establish environmental and cultural sustainability standards. Members discussed the pros and cons of the draft legislation and continued their discussion of other possible initiatives to advance the Task Force's objectives. The members did not vote on the various recommendations, but instead will work on the proposals they are interested in pursuing. A copy of the September 12, 2016 Agenda and Minutes are included in the Appendix. Respectfully submitted, Margaret Wille Chair HIPSIS Task Force Mid-Range Report APPENDIX I. MEETING AGENDA HIPSIS Meeting Agenda— 12 September 2016 DATE: Monday, September 12, 2016 TIME: 10:00 a.m. — 3:00 PM PLACE: Hilo Puna Conference Room with videoconferencing from Kona Conference Room, and possibly at other sites. Phone in code to be provided prior to meeting CALL TO ORDER BY CHAIR MARGARET WILLE (note: Danny Paleka and Margaret Wille are rotating chairing these HIPSIS Task Force meetings) MORNING SESSION 10:00-10:30 a.m. Welcome and Introductions 10:30-10:50 a.m. Review of HIPSIS Resolution 565 Draft 3 Goals, in particular, "to work together to explore legislative actions to prevent the production of packaging waste and promote reuse, recycle, and recovery of packaging products aligning with the County of Hawaii IRSWMP for approval by the Hawai`i County Council and Mayor to become law" 10:50-11:00 p.m. Break 11:00-12:00 p.m. Member's presentations: 1) Propose at least one legislative action for the Task Force to support that would advance the above stated HIPSIS Goal; and 2) Propose one other action for the Task Force to undertake or recommend that is consistent with this or other of the HIPSIS goals 12:00-12:30 p.m. Working Lunch. (Sandwiches and soup to be provided) Open Discussion about Member's proposals AFTERNOON SESSION 12:30-1:00 p.m. Vote on proposed actions 1 1:00-2:30 p.m. Discuss appropriate action plans and assign duties 2:30-2:50 p.m. Assign duties to individuals (or subcommittees?) 2:50-3:00 p.m. Plan for Next meeting ADJOURNMENT: 3:00-4:00 p.m. (optional period for further informal discussion among Members) PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES WILL NOT BE PROVIDED PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN CONTAINER FOR WATER— REFILL AVAILABLE II. MEETING MINUTES HIPSIS Meeting Minutes— 12 September 2016 MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE Margaret Wille, COH CC Dexter Yamada, KYD Inc. Ellen Cunningham, COH (MW) [CHAIR] (DY) R&D (EC) Daniel Paleka, COH CC Joy Gold, Consultant to Jason Higa, CEO Zippy's (DP) KYD Inc. (JG) (repping HRA) (JH) Linda Peters, COH DEM Jonathan Wong, Surfrider Lauren Zirbel, HFIA (ZW) Fdn Hilo (JW) Megan Lamson,HWF(ML) Tom Knox, HFIA (TK) Vicki Haili, Recy HI(VH) Elizabeth Elkjer, SIP (EE) Steve Ueda, Suisan (SU) John Elkjer, SIP (JE) Paul Buklarewicz, Recycle Wendy Okasaki, DOH HI(PB) Acronyms: HWF—Hawai`i Wildlife DEM—Department of Fund Environmental DOH—Dept of Heal Management COH—County of Hawai`i HFIA—Hawai`i Food SIP—Sustainable Island Industry Association HRA—Hawai`i Restaurant Products Association TF— HIPSIS Task Force CC —County Council Fdn—Foundation RH—Recycle Hawai`i EPR—Extended Producer EFP - environmentally Responsibility R&D—Research and friendly products Development 2 Meeting called to order - 10:16AM Introductions (members introduced themselves) Statement of Chair MW: The most significant goals relate to source reduction. A task force goal relating to source reduction could include anything we can do to eliminate harmful packaging or decrease how harmful it is. From there, moving down the waste management priority hierarchy ("downstream") next would be to re-use the same packaging. Then, down to recycle by processing, and at the bottom of the hierarchy—dealing with litter one way or another. Director John Defies and I both attended the recent IUCN Congress. It was made clear at the conference how critical things are right now— such as with regard to ocean health—marine health, and that source reduction should be the primary focus. We no longer have the luxury of making decisions based on what is convenient and less expensive, rather than putting environmental wellbeing foremost. So we start with the task force goal of working together to explore legislative actions to avoid - prevent packaging waste, which is "A" on the Kuleana Worksheet. Going around the room each member can state at least one item aligned with a legislative goal that we as a TF or individually can pursue or accomplish. DY: KYD submitted several questions to the TF at the end of the month and wants to know when they are going to be answered. MW: Suggested he raise them during the meeting to the TF to respond. JH: Justin with FFF will be calling in to join the TF later. MW: My goal is that we are talking about and working together, and having this conversation to address obstacles to reducing harmful packaging and to suggest reasonable compromises. KULEANA CHART Column A:Identify Solutions addressing the production/distribution of environmentally friendly products JE: Production of pulp is a possibility here in Hawai`i (listed examples) that could be used to make compostable food service containers. JE has looked into this end (production) quite a bit, the difficult part here is the cost of energy. There is a digester that is under review here NOW in West Hawai`i. More review is needed but the possibilities are HERE. Foam is not recyclable, at least not here. So by eliminating foam you are heading in the right direction. The current recovery rate for recyclable items in minimal. JE says that the initial numbers given was 10-20 million dollars to start to build something here to produce compostable products. (say 20 million loan divided by 10 years, ... it's competitive enough that we COULD sell to the mainland. The wild card is energy costs! LZ: Nearly half of Hawai`i residents live paycheck to paycheck. Tax on food is bad policy. Recycling has become a money-sucking enterprise. The definition of environmentally friendly products ("EFP") is under debate. Compostable containers are NOT being composted in 3 Hawai`i. Until there is an existing composting facility, then there will be NO composting, so we fail to see how these products would be considered EFP. SEE her 4 page document. MW: The focus must on solutions. Do you have any suggested solutions? LZ: Solutions listed were to get the COH onto the Malama 808 website, and other litter-based management solutions that use best packages to ensure food-based packaging doesn't end up in the water/ streams. [http://www.malama808.org/] DY: I haven't identified any specific solution. Part of the problem is that over the years, we have made tests to run compostable products from our line but it failed, and at a cost to us. The product didn't come out as proposed, and it was at a big expense to us. For now, my feeling is there is nothing available to use NOW to run the new compostable products on a conventional machine. We are one of the few manufacturing facilities in HI. To get something like this going and the start-up costs will be extremely expensive. To streamline our equipment to do this, it took two years. We did this test a couple years ago. Company called Sereplast to help us do this. Now we just distributed compostables, we don't manufacture them. From my standpoint, producing some of these compostable products it would be REALLY difficult in Hawai`i. Shipping is a HUGE factor, with foam you don't pay for the air ... whereas other products are heavier. JG: One solution proposed was to build on NOAA Nets to Energy partnership with Matson/ HWF to ship the nets to Covanta energy. Esp with the bulky packaging products. Partner with O`ahu's Pacific Allied Products who is already recycling foam. Walmart in the mainland (started in Vegas) began recycling foam material into picture frames, so they might have info that might be useful for partnering. In terms of taking the lead, someone with HWF or Hawai`i Nets to Energy should start the efforts. TK: There are a lot of issues around the first part of the statement in the kuleana chart. The second half of this problem is easier to achievable. The first half doesn't have a clear path to produce quantifiable benefits. Part of it will be identifying the sources of such waste items that are washing ashore. The easier things to control will be the land-based sources, things starting on land and entering the water. A solution next to the waterway would be as simple as putting a trashcan by a water way. Identifying (75% of the problem) and mitigating those sources. MW: We need to find source solutions so that compostable products can be manufactured in an efficient way here in Hawaii. So we need more emphasis on gaining knowledge how to do what we want to do—produce locally. This is the kind of task the R& D Department could be asked to consider. SU: My written solutions were mostly geared towards litter management. To manufacturer food packaging locally would be a HUGE benefit for our local restaurants, and fantastic resource for our island. My suggestion of the cuff would be to find grants and R&D funds to identify solutions. JE: Brought up the costs of building a compostable to-go ware production facility here. Back and forth with DY about issue accessing materials. DY concerned about transport being 4 disrupted by disasters. JE thinks that we can get through some of these concerns and that should not be a problem. JH: With the TF permission, he wanted to give a background on Zippy's efforts in enviro community. Many of the local restaurants who are part of the HRA, .... from day one we have understood the importance of the community and we have found ways to give back to the community. We have over 2000 employees. Our existence is more about our employees rather than money base. We have done things over the years, after feedback from our customers, including sourcing LOCAL products, including local beef. These were all endeavors that were done at additional expenses to us as operators. Local produce is also often at a higher price. For us it's NOT all about dollars and sense, it's more than that. In 2010, we eliminated as much of our EPS containers as possible (moved to type#5 containers). Our hope back then was that#5 plastics could be recycled, but today we realize that may not always be an option. But they ARE reusable and microwaveable. We couldn't get rid of all of our EPS foam, specifically for the hot stuff. Hot saimin 180 degrees F and hot soup, ... which are the only ones left. We looked at compostable materials for them twice (2011 and 2014) and we will do so again in 2017. Things improve. But our biggest concern is the sturdiness of the containers, .... Stacking them can be a problem, for the safety of our customers. We weren't ready to take the leap yet. But we are hopeful. We have been active in HNL debates and members of the Maui TF on foam. The issues are complicated and it is difficult to come up with solutions even with a group as broad as this. We know that many enviro groups are anti-incineration but if you look at other foreign countries they are doing this, and it helps negate the portion of imported oil. There is H-Power, and on Maui and here on Hawai`i there are some options for"Waste to Energy" here. The DEM chair in HNL doesn't recycle #1 PET plastic water bottles, she thinks it is greener to burn them than to send them to CHINA for recycling. Population base is another issue. Other areas, like LA, that have composting facilities have over a million people. You need efficiency. Materials are a byproduct of population, the bigger the population the bigger the put through. On O`ahu, with the population base of a million the "put through" is even an issue for H-Power. So, I guess my recommendation is to allow the experts to study and to come up with the solutions. I'm talking about TF members like Linda Peters and Ellen Cunningham. On Maui, the DEM has experts within the county that would make sense for the island. MW: Is Wendy (DOH) on the line? WS: For us, source reduction is the most important. So that DOES mean to stop using or reduce the amount of EPF that is being used. It sounds like for food safety issues and economics, some folks don't think that is viable. So our advice would be to study what kind of materials we can add to use at the composting facility and also consider the economics of bringing in(importing) such items that are compostable vs recyclable vs. landfill costs. PB: From the perspective of RH with our work in education, and Keep Hawaii Beautiful, our focus has always been source reduction. We have been teaching home composting for over 10 years, and HI county is providing these earth machine products, and have instructed several thousand families to do home composting. So education of the public is crucial. What we have been teaching, ... we have also been honoring restaurants with our"Keeping it Green Hawai`i" 5 awards, ... including Hana Hou in Na'alehu and Annie's Burgers & Beer. Another solution is to BOYCOTT those restaurants that are using these products. Another solution is education, which is the most important (consistent and continual)to move away from products that are harmful to the environment. We need to reduce the usage of plastics. Basically our objective is to divert compostables, recyclables, and re-usables out of the landfills, our major objectives. VH: From an economics standpoint to reduce, we could look at the cost difference in the compostable/non-recyclable products and subsidize companies to use compostable. PB brought up a grant from Keep America Beautiful, we refunded the difference between non-recyclable dinner ware vs compostable dinner ware for all public events. The idea was to encourage the use of more compostable dinnerware. The idea was if more people were ordering these EFP the less they would cost (drive prices down). (Average amount paid out per event was $10.) LP: We (COH) are recycling around 34-35% on this island (but this doesn't include private households) but we aren't sure about state data. In 2008, the waste composition study found that organics made up about 52% of the landfill. I am new to this group. It's a complicated problem, managing solid waste is NOT simple. We need our private businesses and we need to support THEM. But it is also highly important to support public health—for individuals and for the environment. There is misinformation that recycling should be free. Yes, in the past recyclable commodities can bring money in to offset the operating contracts. These put-or-pay contracts are rampant in the incineration industry, ... whereas the recycling/composting facilities are not. And we let these decisions dictate our decisions. We are very excited to be the first organics / composting facility in the State. It's not built yet. It's great that we can recycle plastics like#5, but what about the shipping since there is no one here who is using those materials (industry). Composting is a GREAT solution. But at the same time we have to be sensitive to the businesses and figure out how to move forward the right policies for other parts of the waste stream. And I agree with PB, education is key. If people don't understand why recycling is important, then they will not invest in it. ML: See additions to Kuleana Charts (action items listed below) Comments on study from Dr. Hank Carson et. al. 2013 about local sources of marine debris from Hilo. And clarification about HWF's contribution to nets to energy. Action item: Create a brochure /hand-out of available compostable/biodegradable products that are LOCALLY available as viable alternatives to the current non-recyclable packaging products. Action item: Distribute said brochure to ALL restaurant vendors on Hawai`i Island (use COH funds or seek award from Kokua Hawai`i Foundation). ➢ Action item: Work with Hawaii DOE to inspire "zero waste" or"plastic-free schools", ... provide COH grants-in-aid to teachers/ administrators who would like to provide students with re-usable water bottles take-out containers, and bamboo sporks, to eliminate the need for daily single-use plastic utensils. Recess for a few minutes, .... JW: He doesn't have some action items since he just got added to the TF. But he will make some comments. It was interesting hearing from everyone but there was a lot of aspects 6 discussed to move forward -which is great, but he is worrying with the time-frame of this TF to accomplish goals. There are Lots of solutions proposed but it will be hard to issue substantive solutions except for education of the general public and identifying new areas for composting facilities. We should look to the experts and try to bring them down to some concrete actions ... perhaps that can happen for the next time. Input from Start Coleman/ Surfrider Foundation: ❖ reduce single-use plastic products; ❖ promote a policy of"1, 2, C" where we only accept products that are recyclable in HI (# l's & 2's) or compostable (c); + create composting facilities where counties can process food waste and compostable products and create fertile soil (which will help grow local food &reduce greenhouse gasses); ❖ and ban the least recycled & most littered forms of plastic like EPS foam. EC: Broke goal #1 it into two pieces: A) There is an opportunity here to work with EPR (extended producer responsibility), which would be easier to accomplish at a state level. We as a state could potentially shift the waste management cost to the producers, ... which is already included in the ZW management plan. $30-70,000. For the green dot program, this is a program that the state would pay a fee for: $1,350 /annually. At a local level, we don't know if it would reduce waste, but it is a way to label. B) Identify sources of that waste, a marine debris litter study to document what kinds of debris are entering the ocean from afar and that we are contributing to. $50,000 cost. We would use /establish standard protocols. DLNR DEM NOAA Ocean Conservancy Surfrider Fdn COH P&R --> Keep America Beautiful grant might be a source of that information as well. DP: Taking into account all of the great info brought in today, ... I think we could: a) bring in the experts, b) form partnerships with stakeholders to identify experts, promote incentives, identify tax breaks, or research if we could even produce products here, and c) let the public know: education campaign. JE ran numbers of costs to manufacture here. And we need redundancy here, ... what about replacement materials if there is a break in the supply chain. d) EPR! This is a must, this can be done quickly, but the goal will be long term. It can be done, ... not gonna be easy but it can be done. In summary: + Provide Incentives ❖ Partnerships with experts ❖ Tax breaks and long-terms effects ❖ Education ❖ Consideration of extended-producer responsibility ❖ Sustainability, organics, compostables! MW: The main goal is source reduction—in the hierarchy of Zero Waste priorities, litter management is Global growth and consumption patterns are destroying our earth at astronomical rates. My focus is to create a timeline with a deadline. We are making headway in 7 terms of ideas but deadlines are important to really make them happen. So let's think of legislation what would be do-able. At the conservation conference, the focus of what is low hanging fruit with regard to ocean health seemed to be eliminate plastic bags, polystyrene foam, and oxybenzone products (found in some sunscreens and some other personal care products). What about the production of compostables on this island? What about a contest?! $10,000 grant for whoever comes up with the best ideas. This is the kind of program R&D could be doing. In the meantime, we will need to bring the compostable products from off island. The more that is used, the higher the economies of scale, in other words, the lower the cost. I did bring along a new proposed bill to bring before the council that would put a deadline for elimination of EPF—I would like to say by 2018 when our compost program begins, but would go further out if members of this TF believe that is more reasonable. So I am asking what is a reasonable timeline—2019? 2020? As a compromise I am also proposing an exception for hot foods (say above 140 degrees, or what temperature?). It is the problem with hot foods such as hot soups that industry says there may not be safe compostable alternatives, so I think this is a real compromise. The Bill would also impose the ban on the County without any exception: we need to walk the walk—not just talk the talk—including about plastic water bottles. My heightened concern is coming out of the IUCN conference, being aware of the need to address ocean health. The state of Hawaii uses the most EPS and Hawai`i Island uses the most EPS foam in the state. The ocean currents in this area of the Pacific carry light weight EPS up the chain of Hawaiian islands. A study was done of this impact from our island... whereas, in contrast, I believe we should work to make our island the model of aloha/ sustainability/malama aina. I too was very upset when COH eliminated the DEM's $100,000 zero waste educational component. Funding is all a matter of priorities—for example, it seemed as if the Mayor Assistant Augie T's with salary of$100,000 was hired about the same time. We can ask that that recycling/Zero Waste education program be funded. WE as a county are also now subject to the public trust principles of sustainability and need to generally be more aware of how our decisions effect the environment, not just say the cost differential trumps the environmental concerns. Like what John Defries has said in the context of the Aloha Sustainability Challenge- it's not just the economics, you have weigh in environmental and cultural wellbeing of our decisions. As with composting, we need to look at the full circle. From our food waste and organics with the compost operation, that goes back to the farmers and farms into the ground as compost— soil nutrients, as the first choice which is then used to grow food which puts food back in our stores, resorts, restaurants. A complete sustainability circle. Regarding EPR—good example is how all who sell car batteries must take them back and they have something like a 95% return rate. Perhaps we can do that for all batteries and with regard to packaging generally—require those who provide/sell packaging to take it back—such as Fed Ex. Part of making this happen that is the education about why it is important.. 8 COH needs to fund the recycling education program. Also we need to get out brochures of what IS available for any of the restaurants, especially to those who opposed bill 140. I would propose some type of EPR, ... if you produce / sell these products you should be able to take it back., including at vendors such as Foodland/Longs /-- make it across the board. If we had $50,000, I would spend it on a study that would focus on what can be done here to produce packaging materials that could be composed in our compost production facility on island. Anyway to start with, given our time limits on this task force I want to put something before this council that would be similar to foam reduction bill 140 BUT substantially different by including an exception for foam to be used for especially hot food products. But it may likely need SIX votes to pass—assuming it is too similar to Bill 140. Bottom line is: how can we really create a sustainable community here - we need a deadline... isn't that how we all work, many of us... no deadline, then not likely to happen. I will address some of the concerns expressed here today. [MW passed out her proposed "Sustainability" legislation] TK: Re MW's new proposed bill: Is there a minimum temperature that food needs to be cooked to and maintained at for health code? TK says minimum of 140 degrees for a certain number of minutes.... JH and JE said that it must hit 165 degrees. JH: There is other issues involved with that resolution(when proposed on Maui) ...when you talk about HRA you have Alan Wong's dining and other mom and pops restaurants and they serve a specific customer base that is more cost-sensitive. 6 cents added cost for bigger restaurants like Zippy's, McDonalds, etc. would be ok but it would impact the smaller restaurants. If the bill includes a exception for hot foods, that would work for Zippy's—but we need to look at the additional cost impact to small food shop operations. EE: We are a small local company, and we work with a very small mom and pops restaurants, some of whom only make orders every two months or so. Some restaurants OPEN their doors using our compostable products, e.g., One example - Aloha Shave Ice in Kona. It is doable, and more so than folks realize. So to your point, the education must be there. JH: On Maui, the TF showed that there was a decline in EPS containers and an increase in compostable containers, ... so there are positive changes happening around the state. MW: The big thing is that you don't do this overnight so there is time to transition from what is harmful to what is beneficial. In terms of our mindset, and our laws, ... we have in our constitution the right to a healthy environment, for the common good. Say with DDT, and plastic bags. . . . when those bans were proposed—there was an outcry about cost, and yet when the laws went into place for the common good, there was no big objection. I agree with you that there is an issue about educating folks about alternatives—and that is why we need to build in a reasonable transition period, for education and see if there is a need and a way to subsidize those in need to make the transition. What can you suggest to help defray the costs and concerns of making this change towards the greater good? It will also be important to education about the costs to the environment and the marine organisms to from single-use packaging waste, .... For me, what I can do is get that conversation out there. I am proposing an alternative bill to Bill 140 ("Styrofoam") and one on principles of sustainability. It doesn't mean that the styrofoam bill—or 9 my bill on sustainability principles is the only way—but it is one way to seek change but also to educate. LZ: Does this include the eggs that are coming in from the mainland? JH: No. Interstate commerce clause that would prohibit states /counties that might restrict inter- state commerce. Because of that, a lot of these bans would be directly at local businesses at the benefits of out-of-state entities. MW: What do we want for our island? Malama `ding is the talk the talk—so do we walk the walk for residents and for our tourism element. We should be a leader in environmental awareness and instead we are stuck in the 1980s, as far as action is concerned. REST OF THE KULEANA CHART: EE: Re Item #C: Things that have been brought up about the safety of to-go containers. Whole Foods uses compostable meat trays in their facilities and if they can do it, it must be safe. Lined with NGO so it's now more resistant with heat, so there are compostable trays now that are a lot more durable than they were before, e.g., hot bowls, hot cups for coffee. There was a chemist from Taste of the Range talking about a new compostable material that can actually handle higher temperatures and will handle very well. That's a good thing about this industry is that there is always innovation and WE ARE GETTING THERE. Unfortunately, compostables had a little bit of growing pains but they are getting better. With what we have now they are safe and leak-proof and they will continue to improve. JE: The best thing that will happen is that my company (SIP) will go out of business. One day we hope that everyone will use re-usables, ... so the next step /question will be how to be implement re-usables, safely and sanitarily. So if this community/TF looks at this goal as attainable then this may happen. That is where we want to go. JH: There is a State of Hawai`i regulation that would regulate taking containers over the counter, that needs to be addressed. JG: This is where what Danny summarized about bringing the experts to the table is important. Perhaps Peter Oshiro like DOH come to the table to seek guidance about what works, ... or provide suggestions. LZ: We put something in our kuleana chart in there about re-usable containers, ... LUNCH MW: Legislation is good to promote awareness and educate the public so in my role that is what I think will move this conversation along the most -- keep the discussion on the foam reduction issue and on the public's awareness of the environment concerns. LZ: I think it would be nice if we focus on things that we can all agree on. It's a long all day commitment and I think that we should work on the things we could all agree on. Focus on the path of least resistance. 10 MW: The different suggestions do not conflict. We can pursue several avenues. One avenue that would pursue common goals is to question R&D about what they are doing to move forward with incentives for new business endeavors that would move us forward on our common goals NELHA has incubator for certain tech things but not for this type of stuff... we as a county need to figure out our priorities and support them. Another example is the alternative to Roundup is Avenger imported from Georgia, main ingredient appears to be citrus based, well we have a lot of citrus here. Perhaps we can manufacture a Hawaii alternative to Roundup,just like compostable food containers. Can we export such thingsmaybe? Again maybe a competition would be good. I would like to see a competition and get folks working together to incentivize these ideas. VH: HI plan seed money of$25,000 is now available (due date for proposals was Sept 10th, 2016) to get your business started. So perhaps be on the lookout next year. JE: Hawai`i is the 50th best state to do business in: logistically, financially. The environment for investment in the state of Hawai`i is crazy. Our population base here in Hawai`i is likely not big enough to sustain compostable production facility, unless you could expand the market into the mainland USA. But COH CC have access to legislators, ... business people here in Hawai`i need a little help. It's tough! I started as a restaurant guy. Yes we need to move forward on this but we need some help from the gov't or the power company or some function, otherwise we are just having a nice conversation. MW: Voluntary Recognition Certification is also important. For example Recognition of B- Corps, ..., in other words, recognizing businesses that are making decisions that are doing right. Good Businesses as a force for good. Recognizing and awarding those that are doing good. In terms of consensus, at this point the real question is what are those of us who are least interested in moving this effort forward willing to do / give/agree? What is our lowest common denominator? Isn't this the question regarding consensus issues? EE: World Centric is a B Corp. It's a HUGE process for businesses; SIP is trying to get there. TK: We want to see really effective solutions to these problems, so if we could focus on problems that are achievable, i.e., reducing products and packaging waste from entering our ocean. Ideas for moving forward: EDUCATION: County of Hawai`i re-fund the education program funding. DP: If private waste companies, like Pu Honua, want to come online ... VH said that they are no longer planning on touching waste. JW: I couldn't really hear the last 45-60 mins of conversation, but he really wanted to see, ... one of my concerns was that we were tackling problems that went beyond the committee's purpose. The solutions are multi-faceted and they go pretty deep, issues with economics and environmentalism, ... hard to seek a short-term solution that we can do now. 11 LZ: See if the county could sign on to Malama 808, which would help with marine debris. Promote education about bringing your own water bottle, bag, and the importance of using reusable products when possible. More research should be done on impacts to restaurants if we are going to push forward any reduction bills. MW: Linda, isn't it now you usually figure out the DEM budget for the year, ... ? LP: (shrugs) It takes people to educate. The COH needs people or to subcontract agencies who have people. Education is a powerful thing, and I am not sure where we are in the budget right now. The city and county of HNL has an ordinance which mandates the island of O`ahu DEM to educate, ... we—COH—don't have any such ordinance. JH: It's a campaign designed towards our customer base, ... we all agree we could do a better job of promoting litter practices at our locations. What do we need to do about changing litter practices? TK: Litter prevention campaign/advertisement (e.g., crying indian add) has had a direct correlation to the extent of roadside littering. And the less litter out there the less folks are likely to litter. Yes, litter is still out there but there is a fraction of what was out there in the 60's. It's not perfect but it can reduce the amount of stuff out there. VH: The environmental court is now around and available here in Hawaii. MZ: What do the cruise ships do? Impact of off-island littering. VH: Some use a gasofier to incinerate waste on the boat. ML: I don't think they are allowed to dump plastics into the ocean.... EE: Depending on the generation, we do understand litter as a problem. I was at an event last weekend and they colored what plastic pollution meant to them and a 4yr old girl drew a cigarette butt with an X on it. Yes litter management is important but maybe it's not the only/ best focus. LZ: We can also hit source reduction. Don't create waste, use your own containers, make your own products, ... a transition from the baby boomers to millennials, ... shaping a new mindset and a shaping/educating people in how they can make the difference in what you are doing in your own everyday containers. These things could be expressed more easily to people. JE: Question for Linda, ... you are in it every day. You see it every day. What do you see as the possible sources for reduction of waste? To get to the zero waste side. What are the biggest limitations to getting to ZW?? LP: I can't speak for the DEM. Education is the key component. If people understand, and coupled with the participation of our retailers, then people felt they were doing the right thing then they could embrace it. Solid waste is a complex topic. We need a landfill. You can make laws but it really comes to individual choices, ... laws aren't the only answer. It takes incentives, legislation, cooperation with businesses, source reduction, education, and updates to 12 our transfer stations (and public safety). Noted that Maui County requires outreach zero waste education by ordinance; County of Hawaii does not. DP: We need the money to do it, and it should come from the producers. MW: Education at the grade-school level is important. University of CA students brought 4 schools middle school from Waimea on a field strip looking at the harm from marine debris on marine birds and fish. In Bangkok Thailand, a study showed straws were the #1 item that clogged the drains... so a"strawwars" program is a good start too. EE: Straws suck. They are unnecessary and everyone gives you one. #strawwars Why not just get a straw only when you ask for them? VH: Standard curriculum that could be used anywhere to educate on this issue is also good, ... Need to Follow up with school curricula: Nancy Redfeather, PRISM, HWF LP: Kids are getting an education about how to recycle but we are not walking the walk. As a community we need to show them we believe in what we are saying. MW: DOE is getting their contractor to do source separation. They are finally starting to do something at this level. DP: Glass is recycled, it is crushed and sold, ... mostly on island. HI-5 is working, .... EPR. For foam and other packaging products, we need an EPR program. Or do we put a tax on it. Extended producer responsibility is in our plan, ... MW suggests he write a bill to do that. DP: What about charging Walmart or Fed Ex or whoever brings foam into the island ?? EPR on everything. As many products as come in and that we bear the costs of disposal (JE: consumer and environment will bear the brunt of these costs). MW: Should we increase HI-5 into HI-10. LP: The problem with EPR with our state, is that we need to make sure the county gets the money, with electronics the state kept a lot of the money. Non-HI-5 glass is being recycled and used on island. TK: Glass being used on island is source reduction to off-set other materials. HI-5 glass is being hauled off island and producing no offset on the island. This is a good policy flaw that should be highlighted, e.g., of glass being a net negative on source reduction and money avail to your programs. MW: Direct costs aren't taking into consideration state /county lifecycle costs of disposing the items, and maintain a landfill. LP: 1/3 of the DEM solid waste budget comes from landfill fees, and the rest from taxes. LZ: It's very regressive to tax food first, ... MW: But with economies of scale the costs of EFP decline. 13 TK: The ban should at least be geared towards the year after the compost facility is willing to take food-waste containers. It is working well in San Francisco and Seattle (high income well educated communities), whereas in Alameda County is was closed for smell and health concerns within 5 days. Assuming plastic is bad, and assuming composting doesn't work.... Where does that leave us? MW: Don't think we should assume our composting program wont work - the operator does have an operation now functioning. EE: With all do respect, our composting facility is already going to happen, so you are not focusing on something that we should be in our TF. Brought out the example of degraded foam vs compostables in the marine environment. And with regard to GMOs—not used on anything that touches your mouth. TK: Corn is an industrial-based product as well... PLA. [Via Wikipedia: PLA - Poly(lactic acid) or polylactic acid or polylactide (PLA) is a biodegradable thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived fromrenewable resources, such as corn starch (in the United States and Canada), tapioca roots, chips or starch (mostly in Asia), or sugarcane (in the rest of the world). In 2010, PLA had the second highest consumption volume of any bioplastic of the world. The name "polylactic acid"does not comply with IUPAC standard nomenclature, and is potentially ambiguous or confusing, because PLA is not a polyacid(polyelectrolyte), but rather a polyester.t4' Focusing on the solutions to this HIPSIS: 1) Source reduction a. promotion of zero waste as goal (including promoting the COH compost facility) b. extended-producer responsibility"EPR" for packaging c. add the ban on polystyrene foam, consider changing effective date to 2019 or 2020; with a hot food exception if necessary for private vendors; 2) Education a. create a standard message for those educating on these issues b. design a curriculum for the schools (post on COH website (Focus on Department of Education/students to promote recycling on the schools - to mirror the education. Not just educating and not participating c. create brochure for local vendors (regarding alternative/compostable products) d. create more general awareness of Zero Waste goals e. support voluntary certification programs, e.g. Keeping it Green Hawaii, B-Corp 3) Litter - best practices: urge support: [informational links added by MW] a. mdlama 808 campaign—county should join [http://www.malama808.org/] 14 b. #Litterati [http://litterati.org/] c. Endorse bi-annual island wide beach cleanup events d. Support adopt-a-highway/adopt a shoreline e. Promote a StrawWars initiative [http://resource.co/article/Wall/Straw_wars gram; http://www.sd-research.org.uk/case-studies/straw-wars] Other things to note: Studies on economic impacts on residents and viability, studies on the viability of creating a compostable production facility in the state (seek R&D funds), study on what EPR would work for Hawai`i County. JE: Proposes that the COH set an example and leads the way in becoming foam free. DP: Said he would support ban on foam for the county—set an example. Next meeting: Thurs., October 6th, 2016 in HILO Homework—work on suggestions from today; submit your kuleana chart information and/or any research or further information on suggestions made to date to Nadia for sharing prior to October 6th meeting(in the Task Force's Google Drive Folder). Meeting ended—2:35PM 15