Please use this easy way to support activists in Hawaii. The hearing is TOMORROW.
URGENT ALERT: BOTTLE BILL HEARING THIS FRIDAY
The public will have only one opportunity to submit testimony on the bottle bill this session. That opportunity is this Friday before the House Finance Committee. If you want to watch bottle and can litter disappear from Hawaii’s beaches and roadways and want to recycle the majority of the 75,000 bottles and cans that currently get burned or landfilled every hour in Hawai`i, now’s your chance. We need you to speak now.
It's easier than ever to submit testimony on the bottle bill to the legislature. Simply go to www.bottlebillhawaii.org/action.htm, personalize the testimony in the form, enter your info, and submit it. That's it!
You can also submit testimony by fax (586-6501), or email: testimony@capitol.hawaii.gov. A sample is below. For more information on the measure, see www.bottlebillhawaii.org. In addition to submitting testimony, you can also contact Finance Committee by Emailing them directly here.Or see the list with contact info at the end of this message. Everyone is also encouraged to attend the upcoming Bottle Bill Now! rally at the State Capitol on April 9th from 11am to 1pm. Come show your support.
MAHALO!
House Committee on Finance
March 29, 2002, 2:00 PM
35 Copies
Testimony in Strong Support of SB 2266 SD1 HD1
Chair Takamine and Vice-Chair Kawakami and members of the Finance Committee:
As a citizen of Hawai`i and a consumer, I strongly support SB 2266 HD1, creating a beverage container deposit law, or bottle bill, for Hawai`i.
Every hour of every day in Hawai`i, 75,000 beverage containers are thrown away. On O`ahu, we recycle only 20% of the available containers. Container deposit systems operating in 10 states around the country achieve 80% recovery on average. In comparison, the national recovery rate for containers is 38%. A bottle bill would divert between 4-7% of all waste volume from the landfill or incinerator.
But the bottle bill is not just about conserving resources and saving landfill space. By offering a 5-cent “reward,” containers will likely be quickly picked up and redeemed—or they won’t become litter in the first place. Residents and visitors alike would be relieved to watch bottle and can litter disappear from beaches and roads.
A container deposit system would reduce costs of dispol#00 recycling and litter clean-up currently paid for by local government and taxpayers.
Ten states have bottle bills similar to what is being proposed for Hawai`i (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Vermont). Container deposit systems create jobs; net gains in employment have been shown in nearly every state with deposit systems. In Michigan an additional 4,684 jobs were added to the economy.
Bottle bills are proven tools to substantially increase recycling and reduce litter. No bottle bill has ever been repealed—only strengthened. You now have this smart policy option before you. Please do not throw it away.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Finance Committee contact info:
Chair Dwight Takamine, 586-6200,
reptakamine@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Vice Chair Bertha Kawakami, 586-6280,
repkawakami@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Ben Cabreros, 586-6110,
repcabreros@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Willie Espero, 586-6360,
repespero@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Michael Magaoay, 586-6380,
repmagaoay@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Bob Nakasone, 586-6210,
repnakasone@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Scott Saiki, 586-8485,
repsaiki@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Nathan Suzuki, 586-6220,
repsuzuki@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Noboru Yonamine, 586-6520,
repyonamine@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Ron Davis, 586-6790,
repdavis@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Charles Djou, 586-6490,
repdjou@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Bertha Leong, 586-6510,
repleong@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Mark Moses, 586-8500,
repmoses@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Jim Rath, 586-8510,
reprath@Capitol.hawaii.gov
Calls can be made toll-free from the neighbor islands by dialing the appropriate number below, then the last 5 digits of the legislator you are calling, and then press #. Maui: 984-2400, Kauai: 274-3141, Big Island: 974-4000
-- If you do not wish to receive these alerts (about weekly), please reply with a “no mahalo.” --
--
Jeffrey Mikulina
Director, Sierra Club, Hawai'i Chapter
tel:
808.538.6616
web: www.hi.sierraclub.org
email: mikulina@lava.net