COM 0521.038 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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May 25, 2004 The Honorable James Y. Arakaki and Council Members Page 2 privately operated and the construction costs be recovered from the successful vendor of the alternate technology eventually selected. The DEM is prepared to publish the Invitation for Bids for the construction of the East Hawaii Regional Sort Station within the next two weeks. This is important so the recycling and reloading facilities can be constructed as soon as possible. When the construction is underway, an Invitation for Bid for the private operation of the reload building will be published. The recycling operations will continue to be performed by private contractors as they are now. This eliminates the need to create new County jobs to operate the Sort Station Facility. When the Request for Proposals for alternate technologies is issued, it will inform potential vendors that the Sort Station Facility is available for incorporation into their project, as well as contain a statement that the County expects its construction costs expended for the Sort Station Facility to be recovered either up front or over time. Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan and Its Implementation For the last two years, the DEM has been proceeding on implementation of the County's Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan (ISWMP), which was adopted by the Council. As you know, this plan involved increasing diversion of material from our landfills through recycling and reuse, as well as development of thermal gasification, anaerobic digestion, or incineration (waste to energy) as an alternate to replace the Hilo Landfill and handle the portion of East Hawai`i's solid waste than cannot be recycled. The Kea`au Recycling and Reuse Center is very successful, and a similar Center is under development at the Kealakehe Transfer Station. In addition, we are in the process of procuring recycling services for the other transfer stations. The Sort Station is an integral part of our islandwide solid waste services., providing an area for processing recyclables from islandwide collections. In addition, with the recent issuance of the Request for Information on alternate technologies, we are taking the appropriate steps to responsibly implement the next step of the ISWMP, which is the selection and implementation of an alternate technology to replace the Hilo Landfill. Conclusion We respectfully recommend that by going ahead with the construction of the first phase of the East Hawaii Regional Sort Station, built by the County and operated by a private contractor, we can address the Council's concerns about adding new employees to the County payroll and about the County bearing the cost of construction, while at the same time allowing us to reach our projected recycling levels so the life of the Hilo Landfill can be extended as long as possible.