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<br />Commissioner Olson said the current funding mechanism is mostly through peoples’ <br />property tax, which has no correlation to what people need to dispose of. Collecting at the point <br />of purchase would be better. <br /> <br />Mr. Hayducsko said that was a critical point. It is producer responsibility, which many <br />states are taking seriously and making the manufacturers or consumer purchasers pay more. It <br />would be a legitimate subject for the next plan. From white goods to paint to whatever people <br />are consuming, there could well be a producer responsibility for those products. <br /> <br />Commissioner Olson said he has been following this whole thing since 1992 or 1993. <br />The only solution at the moment is using property owners’ property tax, and that is not a good <br />way to go. They need to come up with other mechanisms to make it convenient and see that it’s <br />paid for. They will be floating some ideas for legislation and other things to change the funding <br />dynamic. <br /> <br />Question from a member of the public: A man asked if the advisory committee would be <br />made up of only four people, or whether there are more stakeholders. Mr. Goodale said the HRS <br />requires at least five members, so that is what they are looking at right now. The man said the <br />last iteration had 10 to 12 stakeholders on the project. <br /> <br />Question from the public: A woman asked how you can get on the committee. Mr. <br />Goodale said there is an application form, the same one that is used for the other boards and <br />commissions. It goes through the Mayor’s Office only, and a nominee does not need County <br />Council confirmation. Ms. Noda said the application is available online. <br /> <br />The woman asked what the three locations are that are being looked at for potential <br />composting facilities, and Mr. Goodale said they are all in the Keaʻau area: one site is <br />immediately adjacent to the existing Keaʻau Transfer Station, one is near Christian Liberty <br />School, and the other is in the Shipman Business Park area. <br /> <br />Director Kucharski said he needed to point out that the EA needs to be done on the <br />proper and appropriate siting of any facility. The properties will all need to be reviewed from the <br />environmental perspective before any selection is made. <br /> <br />The woman asked how people in Kona would get their compost to the sites. Mr. Goodale <br />explained that when the East Hawaiʻi waste is trucked to the West Hawaiʻi landfill, the green <br />waste will be coming back to the facility in the empty trucks. A contractor will be distributing <br />the compost back to the public. The contractor will have an obligation to distribute the compost <br />island-wide as part of the contract. <br /> <br /> The woman said she was more concerned with the intake centers and asked if they were <br />going to be available at the recycling centers. Mr. Goodale said they collect the green waste at <br />Kealakehe, Hilo, Keaʻau, Pāhoa, and Volcano and are looking at additional sites to provide green <br />waste collection at the various transfer stations. They are looking at setting it up properly and <br />getting it permitted, as the state has a big say in what is permitted. They encourage it, but it has <br />to be done a certain way. <br />16 <br /> <br />