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! t <br />1 n �� ✓,4 <br />Source reduction is the adoption of practices that generate less waste. Source reduction <br />approaches include changes in product design and packaging, reduction of consumer <br />purchases, and the reuse of materials or goods. By decreasing the amount of waste that <br />must be disposed of, waste reduction programs decrease the environmental issues <br />associated with waste disposal. Reusing a grocery bag, buying materials in bulk, and <br />reselling unwanted but still useable materials or products are typical examples of waste <br />reduction. <br />This section describes existing source reduction activities within Hawai'i County, identifies <br />current issues and concerns with respect to current source reduction practices, and presents <br />options for achieving further source reduction. <br />■ , V ! p <br />3.2.1 Regulatory Context <br />As described in the Hawai'i Integrated Solid Waste Management Act ( Hawai'i Revised <br />Statutes [HRS] Chapter 342G -2), each county is required to consider solid waste <br />management practices and processing methods in the following order of priority: <br />1. Source reduction <br />2. Recycling and bioconversion (including composting) <br />Landfilling and incineration <br />HRS 342G -3 established a 25- percent waste reduction goal by 1995, and a 50- percent goal by <br />2000. Hawai'i County's 5 -year management plan (developed following the 2002 IRSWMP <br />Update) established a 50- percent goal by 2008. <br />3.2.2 Resolution 356 -07 (Zero Waste) <br />In 2007, the County of Hawai'i adopted Resolution 356 -07, "A Resolution to Embrace and <br />Adopt the Principles of Zero Waste as a Long -term Goal for Hawai'i County." The <br />resolution embraces the zero waste philosophy of solid waste management and commits to <br />taking the necessary steps to incorporate the zero waste philosophy into legislation, policies, <br />and actions. <br />The zero waste philosophy is based on the concept that current standards of waste <br />management are inefficient and unsustainable, and that waste can be virtually eliminated by <br />emulating sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are treated as resources <br />that can effectively be reused. It is a whole- system approach that emphasizes a closed -loop <br />production and consumption system by (1) reducing the volume and toxicity of waste <br />through product and packaging redesign strategies, (2) reusing materials and products for <br />December 2009 3 -1 <br />