TESTIMONY
of
Catherine Plume
Vice Chair, Sierra Club DC Chapter
before the
Transportation and the Environment Committee
regarding
B23-0191 - Polystyrene Food Service and Loose Fill Packaging Prohibition Amendment Act of 2019
July 10, 2019 at 11am
John A. Wilson Building, Room 412
I’m Catherine Plume, the Vice Chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, a lifelong environmentalist, and a 20-year District resident. Thank you, Councilmember Cheh, for convening this hearing and for being a champion of environmental issues in DC.
The Sierra Club DC Chapter is here today in support of B23-0191, the Polystyrene Food Service and Loose Fill Packaging Prohibition Amendment Act of 2019. The Club applauds both Mayor Bowser for championing this legislation and Chairman Mendelson for introducing this bill. By banning the sale of polystyrene foam food packaging and the sale of polystyrene packing peanuts, the District is continuing to be a national and even an international environmental leader. The 2011 Solid Waste Characterization Study for the District of Columbia, the most recent study available found that plastics, which include polystyrene, made up 14.9 percent of waste deposited at the District’s Fort Totten and Benning Road transfer stations. Banning the sale of polystyrene service ware and packing peanuts should help reduce the amount of plastic waste from landfills, incineration, and our streams and rivers. And, it should help move the needle towards the Sustainable DC goal of 80 percent diversion from landfill and incineration by 2032. Importantly, there are viable alternatives to these products that are readily available, more environmentally friendly (and in some cases even recyclable) and on a par in cost.
And, while the Club wholeheartedly supports this legislation, this bill will not resolve DC’s waste issues. I will take this opportunity to note that the Club is becoming increasingly frustrated with the DC Department of Public Works’ (DPW) movement on programs that will make a huge impact on the amount of waste generated by DC residents. Councilmember Cheh, in 2017, you put aside monies in the 2018 budget to implement a Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) pilot in DC. To say that DPW has advanced on this pilot at a glacial pace would be a denial of climate change as glaciers appear to be melting faster than DPW’s advancement on this pilot. Two years later we are still waiting for the agency to release just a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the pilot. Any advancement on a District residential composting program seems to be similarly stalled with the process of identifying a site going on and on and on. We are baffled by the lack of progress.
And, while we have your attention, the Club would like to mention a few other environmental concerns that we want to make sure you’re aware of.
1) We urge the Council to take any action allowable to ensure that the tipping fees charged at the Fort Totten transfer station are at market rate. Current contracts with specific haulers charge well below market price for dumping in the District, such that these haulers are bringing waste from other jurisdictions into the District to dispose of it. This means that non-District waste is taking up valuable real estate on Fort Totten’s relatively small floor, taking space away from other recycling and composting initiatives.
2) In 2018, based on concerns raised after a Sierra Club DC-sponsored analysis of DC Water biosolids, now marketed as Bloom and placed on many DC school and community gardens, you had funds set aside for a study of this product in collaboration with DC Water and the Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE). The collaboration between DC Water and DOEE has stalled over legal approvals between the two organizations on development of the RFP. Otherwise DC Water and Sierra Club have worked productively together to design the RFP and develop an advisory committee. Sierra Club suggests that we can get over this snag and get this appropriation spent for the public interest if DC Water and DOEE leadership emphasize this priority. This study is important to protect citizens from a potential health risk. There are many studies that suggest sewage-based compost should not be used on community and personal vegetable gardens - this study will help resolve the question.
3) We’re also concerned about the use of plastic turf on DC playing fields and the environmental and health impacts that this material has on the environment--and also on the District’s children. There are further environmental issues regarding the disposal of this material. We urge this Committee to look into this issue further.
As always, the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club stands ready to work with DPW, their Office of Waste Diversion (OWD), the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), and ZeroWasteDC.gov on any of these issues.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.