Integrated Resources & Solid Waste Management Plan Update - Dec 2009

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4.0 RECYCLING, BIOCONVERSION, AND MARKETS • Requires sophisticated materials processing facilities and equipment, as well as good communication with processors and end -use markets to ensure that manufacturing (raw material quality) requirements are met. Higher initial capital cost because of the cost of carts ($45 to $60 each on the U.S. Mainland). • Fully automated systems require higher initial and long -term capital costs because mechanically complex trucks are needed, that have more rigorous long -term maintenance requirements. 4.5.2.3 Service Standards Curbside collection is generally offered on a subscription basis, or made mandatory for some or all single - family residents within a jurisdiction. Hawai'i County is predominantly rural in character with relatively small urban and suburban areas in Hilo, Kona, Waimea, and a few other locations. Many of the rural areas within the County have steep, unimproved roads not suitable for collection vehicles. Thus, mandatory curbside collection for all County residents is likely to be impractical. Further, longer distances between collection stops will occur in many of the geographically dispersed small communities in the County. A voluntary subscription service, for which not all residents would sign up, would potentially make the distance between collection stops even longer. For program cost efficiency, it is recommended that this option should include designated zones where curbside service would be mandatory. For the purpose of developing diversion and cost estimates, a rough analysis of housing units in Census Designated Places was conducted. The result was an estimate of 37,000 households that would be served by the program, which is about 73 percent of the estimated 51,300 occupied single family households in Hawai'i County3. Collection frequency could be weekly or bi- weekly. Weekly collection generally is more costly, but can potentially result in somewhat higher diversion from landfill. The collection frequency could be evaluated during a pilot program and determined at a later date. 4.5.2.4 Processing The processing requirements for the collection program would need to be determined. The economics of material recovery facilities are characterized by substantial economies of scale. It is likely that the County's most cost - effective strategy to bale commingled recyclables and ship them to the U.S. Mainland for processing (as is currently done with mixed recyclables collected at County recycling and transfer stations). The resulting requirements for a County processing facility would consist of a covered building with space to store incoming materials, one or more balers for densifying materials, and equipment and facilities to load shipping containers for transportation to markets. It is likely that one or more new processing facilities would be needed to support this program. The cost of developing and operating several smaller storage and baling facilities would need to be weighed against the costs and other impacts of trucks hauling materials 3 Based on data from U.S. Census 2006 Selected Housing Characteristics (single - family was counted as dwellings with 1 to 4 units), and 2000 -2006 annual growth rate used to project 2008 total occupied housing units (63,347). 4 -14 December 2009