*Integrated Resources & Solid Waste Management Plan Update (with Appendices) - Dec 2009

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4.0 RECYCLING, BIOCONVERSION, AND MARKETS 4.3.3.2 Cooking Oil, Fats, Oils and Grease During the past 5 years several commercial businesses in Hawai'i have been established to recycle used cooking oil and FOGs in the production of biodiesel. Several commercial ventures are currently evaluating the construction of facilities within Hawai'i County. As noted above, the County plans to contract for the operation of a biodiesel production facility at the WHSL. It is likely that a large percentage of these waste materials generated locally could eventually be utilized in the production of alternative fuels. Data were not available for the value of used FOGs; however, the biodiesel produced using such materials is currently selling at a price slightly higher than that of refined diesel fuel. 4.3.3.3 Paper Currently much of the recycled paper and cardboard generated on the island is either shipped to the U.S. mainland or Asia for reuse. Several local businesses accept newspaper for recycling, and produce shredded paper products used primarily by the local agriculture businesses. Businesses interviewed indicated that 100 percent of the materials that they produce through recycling are purchased by local farmers for use in growing and shipping of agricultural products and flowers. 4.3.3.4 Plastics Plastic containers ( #1 and #2) are included in the HI -5 Redemption Program. Other plastics including plastic shopping bags are baled and shipped to overseas markets. There is a local business that has conducted successful pilot tests of a process that processes film plastics into growing medium for orchids. 4.3.3.5 Glass Currently, glass is both recycled (or reused) in the county and shipped to the U.S. mainland or Asia for remanufacturing. A significant amount of glass is crushed for use in local construction projects. The County Solid Waste Division often specifies glasscrete (10 percent of aggregate is replaced with crushed glass), and uses crushed glass for backfill behind retaining walls. More could be done to use glass for County construction projects. Several smaller businesses exist within the County that use recycled glass for the production of artistic, architectural, or educational products: the market for these products is somewhat limited. The potential exists to develop local markets serving the construction industry that would recycle most or all of the glass containers generated in the County. Doing so would require marketing and promotion efforts, changing specifications and regulations, and developing additional processing infrastructure. Products such as glassphalt or reflective materials used in signage could potentially be produced on the island, but require development of infrastructure, equipment, and /or facilities to accommodate the manufacture of these materials. The HDOH recently changed the handling fee paid to redemption center operators. The fee was lowered from 3 cents per container to 2 cents per container for on- island use, and was increased to 4 cents per container for remanufacturing, which translates to shipping and off - island processing because there are no glass remanufacturers on the island. County Solid 4 -10 December 2009