A recently introduced measure at the Honolulu City Council would ban non-compostable food containers.

The goal of this bill is to protect the environment; however, banning food containers that are federal Food and Drug Administration-approved as safe since 1958, retain temperatures and liquids effectively, and cost less than compostable products does not protect the public or environment.

Given that Hawaii has no commercial composting facilities, this bill does nothing to protect the environ- ment and everything to hamstring businesses and increase costs for consum-ers.

Consider:

» Food-grade polystyrene food containers meet stringent FDA standards for use in food packaging and are proven safe for consumers.

» Health organizations encourage the use of single-use foodservice products, including polystyrene, because they provide increased food safety.

» Polystyrene packaging is an economical option that performs well with keeping cold foods cold and warm foods warm, which minimizes food-borne illness. Improper storage of food temperature-wise is the No. 1 cause of food-borne illness.

Restaurants and other foodservice businesses — from food trucks to small mom-and-pop restaurants — operate on razor-thin profit margins.

Cost in addition to function is always a consideration. Food-grade polysty- rene food containers are generally two to three times less expensive than disposable paperboard products and reusable foodservice items. It’s a container that is relied on for excellent insulation at an economical price.

The food containers that would be banned under this bill work well with Hawaii’s multi-cultural cuisine, which is often served hot, with gravy or in soup-based form for takeout meals. Further, this unnecessary ban will have unintended consequences for businesses that use foam trays for meats, fish and poultry and consumers who carry these grocery items home.

Kamaaina, family-run businesses manufacture and are one of many distributors of food-grade foam products in Hawaii.

Local manufacturing shrinks the carbon footprint by nine 20-foot containers of imported finished product through the use of one container of 40,000 resin beads. This takes far less raw resources than compostable products made of paper or other plant material, which require electricity and water for processing and must be shipped to Hawaii, often from Asia.

Oahu is fortunate to have H-Power, where all combustible trash is diverted from the landfill to H-Power and is converted into electricity for about 50,000 households. Foam products are a good addition to the combustible trash mix because it burns at 18 BTU, since it is made of 92 percent air, compared to other trash that burn at less than 14 BTU.

Since Hawaii has no commercial composting facility to collect and process compostable material, even these higher priced compostable products will end up at H-Power.

Let’s allow consumers to alter the market by their own choices.

Let’s say no to more government mandates, which carry unintended consequences and huge increases in prices.

Litter of all disposable products is a behavioral problem — people aren’t throwing litter where it can be recycled or reused. Let’s work together to make it easier and more accessible for people to put litter where it needs to be and increase H-Power’s waste-to-energy conversion.