HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-07-26 EMC testimony (7-22) Koppel, Mark (I)From:mak221@aol.com
To:Sur, Peter; mark koppel
Subject:Hawaii will not be BURNING its trash
Date:Saturday, July 22, 2023 12:50:41 PM
peter.sur@hawaiicounty.gov
County of Hawai‘iENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION345 Kekūanāo‘a St. Suite 41 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Ph: (808) 961-8083 • Fax: (808) 961-8086
July 26, 2023, 9am Meeting
Aloha Commissioners,
I start by thanking you for your service.
My name is:
Mark A. KoppelP O Box 283Hakalau, HI96710
I am writing as a private citizen, including my o'hana andother friends, but not writing for any one of the severalorganizations I am a proud member of.
As I understand it, your consultants recommended landfillingour trash, yet you seem bent on BURNING it.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but
DRAFT ORDINANCE TO BAN RECYCLABLES FROM LANDFILLING 7/18/23GEORJEAN ADAMS
A [DRAFT] ordinance amending THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OFHAWAII CHAPTER 20, ARTICLE 3, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983(2016 EDITION AS AMENDED), RELATING TO PROHIBITION OFLANDFILLING OF DESIGNATED RECYCLABLE WASTES.
seems to call exactly for that.
In fact, under current EPA, other Federal and State laws, newincineration of trash to produce energy is illegal.
Let's start with the first problem:
1. BURNING. I keep capitalizing this because BURNING producesCO2, the GHG that the entire world is working on lowering. There is no way around this. C + O2 = CO2. This is notallowed. I know all about HPOWER. This would never be allowedto open today, and is not allowed, according to myunderstanding, to burn more trash.
2. Waste from BURNING. CO2 is not the only thing produced from
BURNING. There is something we'll loosely call "ash". It ishighly toxic. Where is this supposed to go? Into the ocean? Left lying around? In a landfill?
3. Pollution from BURNING. CO2 and ash are only two. Thereare lots more extremely Toxic Chemicals that are produced. Especially from our ever-increasing supply of plastic. Some ofthem are known as "forever chemicals" because they mayliterally never disappear. Where they do go is into people's,especially children's lungs. Once in people's lungs, theycause irreparable damage to virtually every organ in the body. I know you honorable people don't want to be responsible forharming even a single person. Think of the lives lost; themedical costs for treatment; the disability payments for even ashortened life; the lawsuits against you.
I don't blame you commissioners at all for coming to the wrongconclusions. There is a lot of misinformation anddisinformation out there. Much of it comes from corporateinterests here and on O'ahu that want to BURN things just tomake money. Some of it comes from legislators who haveaccepted donations from these corporations. You are far toohonorable to bow to these interests.
What do other place on earth do? They use landfills. Even NewYork City sends its trash to Safe Burial landfills a hundred ormore miles away.
I know waste-to-energy sounds like a win-win. In fact, it is alose-lose.
I can guarantee you that if the County proposes burning trash,it will face years, possibly decades of lawsuits. People haveawakened to the Climate Crisis which new BURNING will onlyexacerbate.
I trust you will think this over again and veto this totallywrong plan.Again, thank you for thinking of the people of Hawaii.
Mahalo!!!!
Mark A. Koppel (sig.)