2006-01-AU Audit of the County of Hawai‘i's Recycling and Diversion Grants Program

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CHAPTER 2 GENERAL FINDINGS 6. DEM's managerial deficiencies were exacerbated by external influences in State government. Although the State legislature has adopted specific goals, requirements, and timeframes relating to solid waste reduction, recycling, and diversion as codified in HRS Chapter 342G, the State's commitment to and compliance with statutory requirements are unclear. • The State Department of Health provided insufficient guidance and monitoring of recycling programs under its regulation and control, particularly in the start up of its HI5 Beverage Container Deposit Program. 7. The ineffectiveness of DEM's internal controls may have increased the County's exposure to governmental sanctions and civil liabilities. Conclusion According to the department's annual report, the Recycling and Diversion Grant Programs administered by the Special Programs Group have collectively achieved a 19.1 percent diversion rate from County landfills for fiscal year 2004 -2005. However, as reported in the Findings above, the amount of landfilled waste per capita in the County actually increased by about nine percent in fiscal year 2004 -2005 to approximately 7.59 pounds per person per day versus EPA's target of less than 4.5 pounds per person per day. Also, as noted in the Introduction above, EPA's goal was to achieve a diversion rate of 35 percent from landfilling and combustion by 2005. The County's lack of a clear commitment to address its solid waste streams has resulted in a system reliant on insufficient, outdated, and deteriorated infrastructure which does not permit compliance with current laws requiring certain solid and hazardous wastes to be banned from County landfills and prioritization of source reduction, recycling, and bioconversion over landfilling and incineration. The County must promptly revise and implement its Updated Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, and not abandon that responsibility to future administrative and legislative branches of County government. The County Code needs to be reviewed and revised in order to provide adequate protections, remedies, and authority to enforce compliance with regulatory and contractual requirements. The Department of Environmental Management needs to better manage its Special Programs Group by adopting a best practices approach rather than an ad hoc approach when outsourcing its recycling and diversion programs and closely monitoring contracts for cost effectiveness and expense reconciliation. DEM needs to implement oversight procedures to ensure compliance with all permit and regulatory requirements. Specific benchmarks and timelines need to be developed for each program against which departmental and contractor performance can be measured on an ongoing basis. The department also needs to immediately address deficiencies in file and document management, intra- and inter - departmental communication and reporting, and training of its personnel. Formal written policies and procedures should be developed for all of the aforementioned program components. 13