2020-06-24 EMC Meeting Agenda and Director's Informational Report

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• Although DOH awarded the county grant funding for FY2020, this funding is insufficient to completely fund the program. There was no county funding allocated in the original budget; the lack of county funding has forced SWD to suspend the program from the end of March through the end of the fiscal year. • SWD’s Recycling Section will be redesigning the program to utilize only the funding from the DOH and to no longer rely on General Funds to support it. The redesign may require providing less services to the public. F. HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE (HHW): • HHW collection events were successfully held on 03/07/20 in Waimea and 03/08/20 in Pāhoa at their respective Recycling & Transfer Stations. More information is available at http://www.hazardouswaste.org /recycle/household- hazardous-waste/. • The IFB 3847 contract for HHW Collection Events expires 07/31/20. • SWD is evaluating the quantity and frequency of these events in light of reduced county funding. G. GREENWASTE DIVERSION: • The State Department of Agriculture finalized a permanent rule (HAR § 4-72-13) prohibiting the interisland transport of ‘ōhi‘a plant material to prevent the spread of Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death caused by Ceratocystis lukuohia or Ceratocystis huliohia. They also recommend not transporting ‘ōhi‘a plant material from an infected area to a non-infected area. DEM has recommended that people not bring any ‘ōhi‘a plant material to our greenwaste collection sites and recommends composting on-site. • The county’s contract with Hawaiian Earth Recycling continues greenwaste recycling. Enhanced mulch is available at the East Hawai‘i Organics Facility. The mulch is treated for invasive species at EHOF since the modified State Department of Health permit was issued. SWD relocated the greenwaste recycling at the Waimea Recycling and Transfer Station to make it more convenient for residents. • New greenwaste drop-off guidelines for recycling and transfer stations were implemented on 07/08/19. The new requirements address the number of loads, load sizes, and greenwaste dimensions. For more information go to http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/greenwaste/. H. SCHOOL RECYCLING AND TOURS: Requests for school and HCC/UHH tours of SWD facilities continue. Many were scheduled in April to coincide with Earth Day, but these were all cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 shutdown of non-essential services. These tours are helpful in educating the next generation on recycling and sustainability. Several tours have already taken place for various schools island wide. When schools resume with new guidelines, these tours may need to be implemented. 5