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like to see this idea brought forward. He had a sewer spill in his yard and lives next to an illegal <br />junkyard. People are repairing illegal vehicles on the street. This is what people in low income <br />neighborhoods suffer from, and it ties in to the Department of Environmental Management. <br /> <br />5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS <br /> <br />a. Continued discussion on alternative uses for waste (i.e., waste-to-energy, <br />reclaimed water, etc.) <br /> <br /> Commissioner Adams spoke about advanced recycling, which is about recapturing <br />polymers that are present in recycled products. There are a couple of different technologies to <br />do this, with the end result being individual pieces that can be used to make new polymers <br />equivalent to virgin material. There is a lot of research going into this and pilot projects being <br />done. A big question is whether a project can be scaled for this island. There is a lot of money <br />being poured into these technologies, which are to try to get the plastics back from the <br />environment and divert them from the landfill. What is referred to as a “closed loop” is <br />necessary, which is having all the components of the business cycle collect the materials, <br />transport them to a place that can treat them, recover them, and get them to manufacturers of <br />new products. The new products then get into the market, get used, and are captured again for <br />recycling. She sent them earlier a link to the Closed Loop report, in case they want to dive <br />deeper into this. <br /> <br /> Director Kucharski said he had a discussion with Riley Saito, the deputy director at <br />Research and Development, about alternatives to the use of the current waste stream. Though <br />the COVID pandemic has been slowing everything down, the first public-private partnership <br />procurement in the state is in the process of being finalized. The contract is regarding electric <br />vehicles—providing them, having charging stations, and repairing them—and it will be a <br />prototype for public-private partnership agreements and could be used in a contract for our <br />county, such as one to look at different processes to try and minimize the amount of waste that <br />goes into our landfill. <br /> <br /> Further discussion was had on how public-private partnerships could benefit the county. <br />Director Kucharski said one complication is the Konno decision, which prohibits the state and <br />counties from contracting out work that is customarily done by civil servants. Issues need to be <br />sorted out so there is no Procurement Code violation. <br /> <br /> Chair Pequeño said this a discussion on public-private partnerships would be placed on <br />the next agenda. <br /> <br /> Further comments and statements were made: <br /> <br />• Director Kucharski would like alternative uses for waste to remain on the <br />agenda. The main issue involves procurement. <br />• Commissioner Cardwell would like to learn more about the procurement <br />process, and it should be on the agenda. Ms. Mellon-Lacey said the county’s <br />3 <br /> <br />