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From: James Weatherford, PhD <br /> Keaau, Hawaii <br /> <br /> To: Hawaii County Council <br /> February 21, 2008 <br /> <br /> Agenda item: <br /> REFERRAL FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION <br /> Communication 7.7 <br /> WASTE REDUCTION TECHNOLOGY RFP NO. 2210 <br /> Questions about the Hilo waste-to-energy (WTE) proposal. <br /> "Would WTE prevent trucking from Hilo to Kona?" <br /> No. <br /> At least 25°h, by weight,' of what is now going into the East Hawaii landfill would be tricked to the West <br /> Hawaii landfill. Ash and 'non-bumables' (unrecoverable metal and glass; oversize, mixed and wet <br /> materials). <br /> "Would WTE pollute our environment?" <br /> No one knows with certainty whether or not WTE will pollute our environment. <br /> It is known 'waste' incineration generates, and WTE's have emitted, these pollutants: dioxin, a known <br /> carcinogen; nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas; and heave metals that accumulate in the local food-chain by <br /> way of air and surtace water. <br /> `Do environments! protection regulations assure community safety?" <br /> No. <br /> Regulation is typically a penally after a violation has occurred and after the local environment has been <br /> polluted. <br /> `Does technology assure community safety?" <br /> Only if the technology operates pertedly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every week WTE operates. <br /> Actual experience has been that incinerator operators cut costs on maintenance, which degrades <br /> equipment with the result that the local environment is polluted. <br /> Operator negligence has left some local governments with unplanned expend'Rures to repair or replace <br /> degraded equipment. <br /> `How much electricity will the proposed WTE generate?° <br /> 3.5 megawatts (mw) - an amount equivalent to about 2% of the island's peak electricity generation in <br /> 2006. By comparison, PGV generates 30mw, Hawi wind farm 10mw, and South Point wind farm 20mw. <br /> `Does WTE 6enefd the local economy?" <br /> No. <br /> WTE creates minimal local jobs, retains no operating profrts locally, and displaces local plastic and paper <br /> recycling businesses. <br /> "Would the County go into debt?" <br /> Yes. <br /> WTE would be the County's largest-ever debt-funded capital expenditure. <br /> "What's the alternative?" <br /> 1.Do what has not been done: Reward resource conservation. Reduce tivaste' generation. <br /> 2.Do better what has been done: Re-use discarded materials. Recycle ever more of the rest. <br /> 3.Disposal of the diminishing portion of materials not reused or recycled will require landfilling on this <br /> island or elsewhere. <br /> ' The would-be WTE operator, as well as the County-paid consultant, has only talked about 10%, by volume, 'residue' left after <br /> incineration -ash. This is misleading, because: first, trucking is done by weigh, not volume; and, the non-bumables are ignored. <br /> Gomm. hto 7 <br /> Ref. To: ~>reat?efd tu'rGil <br /> Ref. Dote_ FEB 21 Zp~, <br /> <br />