Styrofoam ban should be thrown away
I initially followed news of the proposed Bill 13 Styrofoam ban with detached interest. It appeared to be unnecessary, full of holes and exceptions. It was a bureaucratic solution where there was no problem. As hearings proceeded and more coverage emerged, I began to research the problem and was horrified at the findings:
1. Paper and food scraps in landfills generate methane gas, which has a global warming potential 35 times as great as carbon dioxide. Landfills are the third largest and most controllable source of methane, even after the EPA has been found to be grossly underestimating the amount of methane being produced by landfills.
2. The so-called paper containers are not all paper. They are glued and wax or polyethylene coated and contain only slightly less petroleum than foam products. They consume much more resources (steam, water, electricity) to manufacture, and release more pollutants into the environment from the bleached paper pulp processing than a foam container.
3. Paper transport to Hawaii broadens its carbon footprint to “12 EE” size. While a cubic yard of Styrofoam is 90 percent air and weighs 9.62 pounds, a cubic yard of paper is a staggering 1,275 pounds! That adds up to a lot of extra diesel or gasoline burned to get paper products to Hawaii consumers.
4. The law will have big costs for the taxpayer. Hearings have already lamented the number of billable hours in drafting the proposal. The Environmental Management Commission has stated it will need additional money and staff to support the bill. That’s just the beginning.
5. The bill will do nothing to keep either paper or Styrofoam out of the ocean. It is already illegal to litter or dump either product and yet both still get into the water. Both have bad effects, either by foam breaking up or absorbing toxins, or by paper rotting and generating methane. Even if Bill 13 passes, there will be plenty of foam-packing materials and consumer foam that is not banned.
There are many other minor and technical findings I discovered, but if five reasons to abandon this bill and stop trying to take choices away from either side aren’t enough then they are just boring and moot.
I just fear Hawaii County is blindly following the lead of Maui County and all the residents and taxpayers will pay the price for what could easily be the wrong choice.
Wayne Hemby
Kailua-Kona