Ka`u Calendar News Briefs Monday, Oct. 17, 2016

MORE THAN 130 FOOD VENDORS ON HAWAI`I ISLAND ARE FOAM FREE. Inspired to start a change in the way our island uses foam products, a group of wahine from three organizations, Hawai`i Wildlife Fund, Surfrider Foundation and Sustainable Island Products, came together to try and tackle the foam reduction issue with a different approach: to endorse the restaurants and food vendors that are already electing to use foam alternatives for their to-go containers and to advocate and educate the others to make the switch. After the loss for the foam reduction Bill 140 at Hawai`i County Council in June, the group compiled a growing list of foam-free restaurants for Hawai`i Island with support from other nonprofits, individuals and distributors, available at goo.gl/tia7Rd. Local foam-free establishments include Coffee Grinds, Ka Lae Coffee, Kilauea Lodge, `Ohelo Cafe, Tuk Tuk Thai Food Truck and Volcano House.

      Rafferty organized a Change.org petition urging Mayor Billy Kenoi to ban expanded polystyrene foam (Styrofoam) food containers on island back in Oct. 2015. As of today, that petition carries over 5,125 signatures of support.

      Megan Lamson, vice president with Hawai`i Wildlife Fund, said, “We live on an island, and we need to be mindful about what we are bringing in, and to consider how short the useful lifecycle of these so called ‘single-use products’ really is compared to their long life in the environment. EPS foam may take decades or even centuries to degrade. A compostable container, on the other hand, will break down – by definition – in 180 days at a commercial composting facility.

      “Here locally, we are being bombarded with our own `opala (trash), which is a serious issue on an island. In 2008, our county was dealing with over 200,000 tons of solid waste each year. Today, our landfills are filling up, and we have more people eating out of more foam to-go containers, creating even more waste. Scarier yet is that our total global usage of plastic and foam products continues to increase. We really have to stop and think about the huge disconnect between our daily purchases, our waste and our island ecosystems. There is no ‘away.’ Away is our `aina, or it is our oceans, and neither are a proper disposal mechanism for our trash.”
      According to data compiled by Terry Miura, volunteers collected and recorded 37,673 pieces of debris during the Get the Drift and Bag It coastal cleanup events hosted by multiple groups around Hawai`i Island in Sept 2015. Of this figure, five percent (1,925 items) were recorded as plastic/foam food containers, packaging or foam pieces. While cigarette butts continue to rank the number one collected item for Hawai`i Island (and the entire U.S.), foam pieces, packaging and food containers numbers are on the rise.
      Council member Margaret Wille is proposing another foam reduction bill in the Environmental Management Committee that would reduce the amount of foam food containers used in all county facilities and venues and at all county-sponsored events. “While proponents of Bill 140 are concerned that this ‘Styrofoam light’ bill isn’t robust enough, they are also hopeful that this move would push Hawai`i County forward in leading the path towards zero waste,” Lamson said. The first hearing of this new bill is scheduled tomorrow at 3 p.m. at West Hawai`i Civic Center.
      “Regardless of what happens during the upcoming hearing, you can take a part in this movement by choosing to eat from foam-free food establishments, compliment the restaurant owners/managers who have opted to select eco-friendly alternatives, bring your own to-go containers and encourage your favorite plate lunch container joint to just ‘hold the foam,’” Lamson said. 
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