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<\/a>Plastic foodware containers will be replaced with compostable, biodegradable options. (File photo: Kelsey Walling)<\/p>\nThe bill covers items that hold, store or contain food or drinks, and serviceware, which is used by food providers, county facility users or organizations.<\/p>\n
Any entity selling, distributing, or providing prepared food to the public must use reusable foodware and serviceware, or disposable options that are certified by the Compost Manufacturing Alliance or visibly labeled as compostable with a BPI-certification mark.<\/p>\n
Testifiers from the West Hawai\u2018i Explorations Academy reiterated to council members the importance of passing the bill for their future.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of our parents and grandparents have memories of clean shorelines, vibrant marine life, clear water and thriving ecosystems, but we live a very different reality,\u201d said seventh-grader Stella Black. \u201cFor us, seeing a small number of fish feels fortunate. The change that has taken place in only a few decades is proof of why we need to pass this bill soon. <\/p>\n ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n \u201cWe all have a responsibility to this place we all share, and young people like me will continue to bear the responsibility of a problem we inherited but did not cause.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, the Department of Environmental Management sent a memo to the Hawai\u2018i County Council. According to the department\u2019s analysis and recommendations, the bill does not achieve a reduction of waste and is not in accord with the county\u2019s Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan.<\/p>\n The department requested a 24-month delay in implementation to find funding for staff and infrastructure, secure greater discretion for the director to amend requirements, and partake in outreach, education, and analysis to implement the ordinance.<\/p>\n For supporters of the bill, the memo was unacceptable.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the Department of Environmental Management was first created, it has routinely contracted nonprofit organizations and private businesses to provide the services needed as new county and state legislation is passed,\u201d said Kristine Kabat, executive director of Recycle Hawai\u2018i, in her written testimony. \u201cThese contracted services, which have been and continue to be provided at greatly reduced cost to the county, include public education, outreach and management of new programs involving a variety of waste streams.\u201d<\/p>\n ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n An argument brought up by opposers of the bill and the Department of Environmental Management is the lack of central infrastructure to compost compostables. However, Ka\u2018\u016b High School has been utilizing in-vessel composting, which is a smaller unit that composts organic waste and turns it into soil overnight.<\/p>\n \u201cWe held a zero-waste youth convergence and used compostable foodware; instead of throwing it away, we put the foodware in our in-vessel composting unit, where it broke down overnight,\u201d said Roxie Castaneda, part of M\u0101lama \u2018\u0100ina Compostables, a student-led zero-waste initiative in Ka\u2018\u016b. \u201cOur in-vessel composting unit is an innovative solution that turns scraps and compostable foodware into nutrient-rich soil while reducing methane emissions.\u201d<\/p>\n Castaneda said the grant-supported efforts have kept more than 20,000 pounds of waste out of the West Hawai\u2018i landfill since its start in 2024.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s fully contained, rat-proof composting unit \u2014 which they named \u201cHo\u2018ouli\u201d \u2014 cost $35,000 to buy and install and is expected to last for 20 years, according to Justin Canelas, operations director of Recycle Hawai\u2018i.<\/p>\n About 100 pounds of food waste goes through the composter each school day, quickly producing nutrient-rich soil that is then split between a local pig farmer and the school\u2019s agricultural programs.<\/p>\n ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n \u201cWe educate communities and other schools on proper waste separation and encourage practices that minimize using single-use items,\u201d Castaneda said. \u201cTogether, these solutions can create a circular system, reducing waste at the source, using compostable materials as an alternative, and fostering sustainable practices.\u201d<\/p>\n During the first reading of the bill, Canelas said that some units scale up to handle 6,000 pounds of waste a day at a cost of about $300,000 per unit.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we deployed five of those units, the county could compost 11 million pounds of food waste per year. Think of the landfill space that would save,\u201d Canelas said. \u201cIt is very safe to use. It keeps rats and pests out, and then the soil can be given to the community to grow food.\u201d<\/p>\n During public testimony, Alameda spoke to potential cost increases to consumers and businesses, as well as funding for enforcement. He presented plastic cups and forks and compared the price to compostable alternatives, which were about twice as expensive.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst off, it must be stated that decisions are made not just on cost; we make decisions with the future in mind,\u201d Councilmember Ashley Kierkiewicz said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m at a volleyball tournament or at a school, there are paper and compostable products everywhere.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have factored those costs into running concession stands, and it did not break the bank. What I hear during the mayor\u2019s testimony is a lot of \u2018no can,\u2019 but to quote Mayor Billy Kenoi, it is: \u2018Not no can, but how can.’\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Environmental Management memo also confused some council members as it discussed outreach as an islandwide effort needed for compliance, yet suggested outreach responsibilities should not be split between the Department of Environmental Management and County of Hawai\u2018i Office of Sustainability, Climate Equity, and Resilience, which was created to share knowledge and coordinate resources related to sustainability, climate action, equity and resilience.<\/p>\n \u201cYou both have a stake in this bill, so why not work collaboratively?\u201d Kagiwada asked during the county council meeting.<\/p>\n Alex White, recycling specialist with the Department of Environmental Management, stated that the point was only made to establish that the department would maintain the lead over the initiative.<\/p>\n After questioning from Villegas, it was revealed that the Department did not reach out to the Office of Sustainability, Climate Equity, and Resilience to discuss the memo.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that no one ever reached out to the Office of Sustainability, Climate Equity, and Resilience, which was established to sit at a cabinet level to direct the county departments in best practices and current technologies for sustainability, to me, is insulting,\u201d Villegas said.<\/p>\n Questioning from Kagiwada and Villegas also revealed that a portion of the memo was written by artificial intelligence. But White said it is not a product of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n \u201cMy constituents will tell me, don\u02bbt mistake incompetence for maliciousness or conspiracy,\u201d Villegas said. \u201cWhen the community already doesn\u02bbt trust the government, I am disappointed by the decisions that were made. It is tough not to feel insulted or offended.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department of Environmental Management recommended extending the implementation period of the bill from 12 to 24 months to allow for rulemaking, public education and additional staffing. The memo states that two Recycling Specialist II positions would be needed to implement the program.<\/p>\n However, Council Chair Holeka Inaba was skeptical about the accuracy of the financial and staffing considerations. If the department needed extra staffing, it could be revisited.<\/p>\n \u201cAs far as the concerns about rulemaking, this body sets policy. The departments make the rules to administer the policy, and I think that is what is going to be done today,\u201d Inaba said before the vote.<\/p>\n According to Villegas, the Department of Environmental Management has been discussing composting since she began her tenure as a council member seven years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIf our high school students can do it and have soil 24 hours later, we need to get there, too.,\u201d she said. \u201cPerhaps passing a law will light a fire to make something happen. It is time for us to move forward with clarity, courage and wisdom, and support from multiple organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n The bill passed unanimously with eight votes. Councilmember \u200b\u200bMatt Kaneali\u2019i-Kleinfelder was absent. The bill <\/a>and written public testimony<\/a> can be found in the Hawai\u02bbi County Council archives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bill to prohibit the sale and distribution of most single-use plastic and polystyrene items used to hold…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":303569,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[167581,167582,157739,167583,167584,167585,192,167586,167587,167588,157744,167589,167590,148235,167591,167592,167593,157748,157749,167594,79,167595,167596],"class_list":["post-330299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alex-white","tag-ashley-kierkiewicz","tag-bill-83","tag-billy-kenoi","tag-climate-equity-and-resilience","tag-county-of-hawaii-office-of-sustainability","tag-environment","tag-hawaii-county-council","tag-hoouli","tag-holeka-inaba","tag-justin-canelas","tag-kau-high-school","tag-kagiwada","tag-kimo-alameda","tag-kristine-kabat","tag-malama-aina-compostables","tag-matt-kanealii-kleinfelder","tag-michelle-galimba","tag-rebecca-villegas","tag-recycle-hawaii","tag-science","tag-stella-black","tag-west-hawaii-explorations-academy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/303569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>Nonprofit groups across Hawai\u02bbi Island hosted five \u201cGet the Drift and Bag It!\u201d beach cleanup events last week, in collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy\u2019s International Coastal Cleanup. (Photo courtesy: Hawai\u02bbi Wildlife Fund)<\/p>\n<\/a>Hilo Transfer Station collects garbage for the landfill. (File photo, February 2016)<\/p>\n