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Overview
<br />Resource management in the County of Hawaii is in transition, with both positive momentum from
<br />plans to implement programs that benefit residents, the environment and economy, and a multitude of
<br />challenges to contend with as well. While the County is moving towards increased diversion of
<br />discarded materials, focusing on recycling and composting, 70% of what is currently generated
<br />continues to be landfilled, and it is this material that will provide resources, revenue and jobs required to
<br />support the island's sustainability. The State of Hawai'i's H15 program, the planned conversion or
<br />expansion of the island's twenty-one transfer stations into resource recovery areas, and inspired efforts
<br />by County staff, elected officials, local businesses and residents, are all collective assets to resource
<br />management on Hawaii.
<br />In 2003, Hawaii targeted 50% diversion of discards to the landfill by 2008, and 80% by 2013. In
<br />December 2007, the County adopted Resolution 356-07: "A Resolution to Embrace and Adopt the
<br />Principles of Zero Waste as a Long-Term Goal for Hawaii County." One of the island's only two
<br />landfills, Hilo, is subject to closure in 2012. The County also pays to haul recyclables across the County
<br />and to ship them off the island for recycling.
<br />- Composting, Agriculture and Food Security
<br />Approximately 90% of the County's food is purchased from the mainland, while some 3,000 farmers on
<br />one million acres, or about two-thirds of the island's landmass of agriculturally zoned property, could
<br />support Hawai'i's economy and food supply. Replacing only 10% of imported foods with those locally
<br />produced and consumed would amount to approximately $313 million in value. "Assuming a 30% farm
<br />share, $94 million would be realized at the farm-gate, which would generate an economy-wide impact
<br />of an additional $188 million in sales, $47 million in earnings, $6 million in state tax revenues, and more
<br />than 2,300 jobs'.
<br />"Replacing only 10% of imported foods with those locally produced and consumed would
<br />amount to approximately $313 million in value."
<br />Food and ornamental plants from mainland and off-island sources have led to the introduction of
<br />between 4,600-8,000 invasive species of flora and fauna, and are 86 considered serious pests of native
<br />ecosystems2. The use of directly land applied organics and composts, mulches and fertilizers produced
<br />from urban discards could help farmers save money to compete more favorably as well, in addition to
<br />providing a healthier, more controllable and sustainable food supply.
<br />After the•last sugar plantation closed in 1995, an already developing shift in Hawai'i's employment from
<br />agriculture to hospitality and tourism intensified. Since this change, employment rates and the island's
<br />economy has become progressively more volatile, subject to the ebb and flow of the economies of the
<br />continental United States, Europe, and Asia. Indeed, Hawai'i's tourism industry is currently suffering
<br />from the worldwide economic downturn. For example, the County experienced a visitor decline of 31.5
<br />percent in September of 2008, and statewide, from January through September of 2008, visitors spent
<br />$692.5 million, or 7.4 percent, less than the same nine-month period in 20073.
<br />~ PinSung Leung and Mathew Loke, "The Economic Impacts of Increasing Hawai'i's Food Self-Sufficiency,"
<br />Economic Issues, Dec. 2008, EI-16, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Hawai'I College of Tropical
<br />Agriculture and Human Resources, Hawaii Department of Agriculture, http://hawaii.gov/hdoa/add/food-self-
<br />sufficiency
<br />z Big Island Invasive Species Committee (BIISC), 23 E. Kawili St., Hilo, HI 96720
<br />3 State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
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