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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0378.006 2020-2022 Mitchell D. Roth Ramzi I. Mansour Mayor Director Lee Lord Brenda lokepa-Moses Managing Director Deputy Director County of Hawaii DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 345 Kek0an5o'a street,Suite 41- Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 Ph:(808)961-8083- Fax: (808)961-8086 Email: cohdem@hawaiicounty.gov CD C= MEMORANDUM --4 TO: Maile David, Chair -n and Member of the Hawai'i County Council FROM: Ramzi I. Mansour, Director Department of Environmental Management DATE: January 13, 2022 SUBJECT: Re: Communication No. 378.3; Requests a discussion with the Department of Environmental Management regarding Solid Waste Division priorities and challenges. Please see the attached hard copy of the PowerPoint slides for a presentation regarding Communication No.378.3, scheduled for the January 18, 2022, meeting of the Regenerative Agriculture, Water, Energy, and Environmental Management Committee. Please distribute copies Of these slides for the Committee meeting. R11\1/ps Art. Comm. No. Ref. To: ?I`KNkEF'MC--' Ref. Date JA 1 4 2027 County of Hawai'i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer County of H awa i`i Department of Environmental Management a e Priors t le pINn y i 1 fa` s ._ Jan . h ^,LTi`•'t � 1 S `, Solid Waste Division org ( current Solid Waste Division Chief/ Deputy IF IF Administration Operations Programs IF IF IF Clerical Engineering East Hawaii West Hawaii Derelict/Abandoned Recycling Program Vehicle Program SWDproposedreor anization � Solid Waste Division Chief r Deputy Chief T IF IF AV Section Chief Recycling Section Chief Program Management Chief Operations Solid Waste Division Priorities & Challenges • Funding: • Lack of funding to hire additional staff, consultants, and or contractors to complete on going projects and maintain daily operations in additional to our equipment replacement and procurement needs. • Staffing: • Lack of staffing due to vacancies and funding - limits the amount of projects we can undertake. • Hiring process is lengthy and we must wait for DHR as they also have similar staffing challenges • Pay is not competitive enough to recruit and retain employees • Planning: • Until additional staff is on board we can not plan and must continue to work in a reactionary mode. • Without sufficient staff to do planning and scope of work, contracts can't be developed, processed and executed. Solid Waste Division solutions • Funding: • Consider financial consultant to explore the possibility of setting up an enterprise fund and other options to make Solid Waste Fund self-sufficient. Revisit the tipping fee schedule. Consider costs and savings of moving to a municipal collection system. PAYT. EMC discussions ongoing. • Staffing: • Staffing levels need to keep up with growth just to maintain a constant level of service. To recruit and retain a skilled workforce in a hazardous occupation, the compensation should be competitive with the private sector. • Planning: • Solving the funding issue will solve the staffing issue, which will get projects off the ground and result in safer facilities, resource recovery, and a cleaner island. Progress since September update • Completed Recruitment/Interviews/Hiring Process for Recycling Coordinator • Sanne Berrig — internal promotion effective January 1, 2022 • Recruitment of Solid Waste Division Chief on going since November 2021 • Interviews scheduled on January 27, 2022 • Engaging with Environmental Management Commission to identify solid waste funding options • Moving forward with administrative rule amendment process • Allowing trailers at certain transfer stations • Tipping fee credit to be reinstated in rules • Loads will need to be secured • No emergency closures of transfer stations. • Re-examining contracts • Secured night maintenance agreement SWD Q3 Projects Update • Recently Completed Projects • West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill Scale Replacement • Hilo Abandoned Vehicles Lot Fencing Repairs and Improvements • Closed Kailua Landfill Sinkhole 16 Remediation • Pahoa Transfer Station Facility Repairs • SHSL Rip-Rap Repairs • Active Projects • Miloli`i Transfer Station Final Closure • Wai`ohinu Transfer Station Facility Upgrades and Improvements • West Hawaii Derelict & Abandoned Vehicles Field Office (Kona) • SWD Operations — Maintenance/Repair Projects Ongoing • Facility repairs, small facility improvements SWD Q4 J Projected Projects and FY 22 - 23 • Q4 Projected Projects • Laupahoehoe Transfer Station Chute • Waimea Transfer Station Cold Mix Paving • Wai`ohinu Transfer Station Improvements • SWD Operations — Maintenance/Repair Projects Ongoing • Facility repairs, small facility improvements • FY 22-23 Anticipated Projects • Kealakehe Scrap Metal Remediation Phase 2 (Master Planning) • East Hawaii Sort Station Improvements • Rural Transfer Station Repairs and Enhancements SWD Projects Beyond FY 22 - 23 • Anticipated Projects Beyond FY 22-23 • Replacement of Waimea Baseyard Building • Hilo Scrap Metal Site Remediation • Leachate Mitigation System EHRSS • Replacement of Kona Baseyard Building • Leachate Mitigation System Hilo Transfer Station • Leachate Mitigation System East Hawaii • Landfill Gas Collection and Control System, WHSL • Replacement of Kailua-Kona Disposal Area • Replacement of Hilo Disposal Area • Leachate Mitigation System West Hawaii Derelict and Abandoned Vehicles Program • Priorities • Removing derelict/abandoned vehicles off the roadway in a timely manner. • Continue offering vehicle disposal assistance programs to Hawaii County residents. • Continue doing derelict vehicle sweeps in various subdivision in partnership with Hawaii County Police Department. • Challenges • Insufficient staff to run the section. • Inability to tow off private property for disposal programs. • Solutions • Working on a reorganization of the section that would include three more positions including a supervisory position. • Work with Council to allow the Abandoned Vehicle Section to tow off private property for purposes of our vehicle disposal programs only. • Partnerships such as the MOA with DHHL to accomplish more cleanups Recycling Program til -,i s t c \I a i i ag c ii i c n t H 'L c ra r ch 0 U 1';:C eduction & RL:LI Se fy Rq-,c y c I Ii ng/C o rn pasting Energy Recovery C i L� I I I I t Disposal U.S. ,:, .S. Environmental of Protection Agency Status on ISWM P — Top 6 Recommendations 1. Education and Outreach — ongoing however awaiting direction 4LCA 2. Renegotiate contract with Waste Management Hawaii - ongoing 3. Additional Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events — not good use. 4. Change County Code to allow small businesses to drop off recyclables at transfer station bin. 5. Establish goals that are expressed and measured in terms of environmental impacts (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions, toxicity, energy use) and consider full life cycle impacts, in addition to the tonnage-based landfill diversion or waste recovery goals — LCA 4 June 2022 6. Develop County policy and ordinances related to source reduction and recycling. Current landfill diversionprograms : • Drop Off Recycling — currently corrugated cardboard and non HI-5 Glass • HI-5 Program — Beverage container redemption • Scrap metal • White goods — appliances • E-waste • Reuse Centers • UMO • Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events • Tire education • Inert — Construction & Demolition material • Greenwaste • Automobiles — DAV program Food RecoveryHierarchy Source Reduction Food Recovery Hierarchy -Source Reduction. -Feed Hungry People. Reduce the volume of surplus food generated Feed Hungry People Donate extra food to food banks, soup kitchens and shelters Feed Animals Divert food scraps to animal food Industrial Uses Provide waste oils for rendering and fuel conversion and food scraps for digestion to recover energy Composting Create anutrient-rich soil amendment -Feed Animals. Landfill/ IncinerationEnvironmental Last resort to -industrial Uses. disposal Protection Food waste reduction • "More than one-third of the U.S. food supply is not consumed, resulting in a `waste' of resources" • From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste (EPA November 2021) • Individual and household actions have the potential to provide 25-30 percent of the total emissions reductions needed to avoid dangerous climate change (>1.5°C rise) and save appx $ 1,000 a year. • Project Drawdown: the most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming, edited by Paul Hawken • We started working on a FWR campaign late 2020 and had to suspend it due to loss of funding. In May 2020 we surveyed 34 small to large sized grocery stores on Hawaii Island to ascertain how many set aside their food waste for pig formers. 34 grocers - medium small to large supermarkets and Costco 27 pig farmers picked up food waste 2 food bank or landfill only — (WaImart wanted farmers to register then they would provide) 1 respondent himself takes it home to compost 1 landfilled 2 unable to connect. We also posted same survey on 5 social media farmer ish pages — overwhelming feedback: All foodwaste is highly coveted and very quickly spoken for at grocery stores, restaurants, schools etc. Y 'a u. �4 frt1 n, �4 0 Ana Al r l�, a 16 k INVa md 4 Source: https://petpigworld.com/what-can-pigs-not-eat/ Trends / industry questions — • How will efforts on climate change influence the national waste and recycling discussion? • National focus on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), prices are up, but Hawaii is 5,000 miles from markets. • Industry waiting to see how waste reduction/ recycling is in Infrastructure Bill • National Recycling Strategy • Requiring recycled content — virgin plastic is cheaper than recycled. • How will reduction and reuse fit into evolving business or government goals? All County Diversion Hui — collaborating with all counties for solutions including increasing the Advance Disposal Fee for glass, and expanding it to photovoltaic panels, electric vehicle batteries, promoting Extended Producer Responsibility initiatives, and PaintCare. Hawaii Wildlife Foundation — collaborate with HWF NOAA grant — filling stations at pa rks. Home Composting bins — Kauai estimates a cost of $7 / ton. R & D — Economic Development grant collaboration which includes "to integrate closed loop waste strategies e.g. CirclePak OCC shred for soil amendment. Fund an island-wide Resource Coordinator? To obtain diversion data from all sectors e.g. breweries, H for H ReStores, Reuse Hawaii, retailers. Cannot set goals without knowing where we are now. Data- driven decision making. Landfill Diversion Programs Update • Priorities • Complete Life Cycle Assessment — estimated June 1 • Development of educational and outreach programs focusing more on waste reduction. • Promote food waste reduction and home backyard composting — Kaua`i County's model $7 per ton / 10 yrs • Funding sources — grants • Work with other Counties: to improve and expand ADF Programs; adopt PaintCare program? • Partner with other Departments • Challenges • Insufficient staff • Insufficient funding — diminishing budget combined with increased demand on Landfill Diversion (Recycling) section. Landfill Diversion Program Solutions • Fund a Public Education Specialist position • Develop social media presence to engage public. • Support Advance Disposal Fee expanding programs in transition to Extended Producer Responsibility — PVs, batteries for EVs, PVs, PaintCare • Develop and implement Master Recycler Composter Program. • Foster partnerships with organizations and other departments. • Actively and aggressively pursue grants • Vision — CoH DEM creates new division like Maui Environmental Protection & Sustainability Division As our diversion goals approach 50% and more, we don't deposit in one place, we have a much more complex charge. Program Budget FY 2017-18 FY 2018-19 FY 2019-20 FY 2020-21 FY 2021-22 (in dollars) 2-Bin nka Drop-Off 1,100,000 1,100,000 600,000* 600,000 600,000 DOH grant — ADF glass *' 1111876 1171730 117,730 125,810 1391600 Scrap metal - not DAV 1,130,000 1,130,000 1,130,000 240,000 449,000 Reuse Centers 3001000 3001000 1701000 0.00 151000 HHWCE 230,000 230,000 250,000 167,500 240,000 UMO *** 75,000 75,000 651000 251000 201000 Greenwaste 41020,000 4,100,000 3,880,000 3,800,000 4,336,000 Education 1001000 1001000 1001000 1001000 501000 E-Waste 100,000 110,000 0.00 0.00 0.00 DOH grant 45,000 1601000 1601000 991950 851000 H1-5 Program **** 401)108 j 452,153 j 4521153 j 475,827 j 509,623 * Fewer commodities collected ** Advanced disposal fee for non HI-5 glass unchanged for 27 years — since program inception *** Prior to FY18, grant money available **** Fully self funded seeks - opportunities t • Trash to Treasure Hilo Wastewater Hilo Treatment Facility West Hawai'i Landfill Sanitary Landfill Utilizing Waste Sources - Around Hawarl Island,we have a variety of sources of •1 _ waske,some o}which thak Is aUeady processed with O o . anaerobk digestion. .............................. Anaerobic Anaerobic Clean Power Generator Methane into Digestion Methane Electricity • Landfill methane will a caption a ed • through anaerobic digestion and • cleaned,using off-grid,renewable energy to do so.Clean met= a o can produce electricity to be used ' for hydrogen generation and ` battery charging,enhancing ..................................................... Island Resiliency. Renewable Energy Sources Fuel for Methane Replacement Vehicle Fueling Island Resiliency of Propane/Storage &Network Zero-Emission Fuel& Island Resiliency The results of turning methane Into electricity Is beneficial for resiliency, replacing propane for m 0 methane,and establishing ®a fueling atot worK d a network .•••••••.•••••••.•••••••••.•••••••.•••••••.••......•.•••' Created by County of Hawai'i Research and Development u vA 2021 The Solid Waste Stream (Review) N. 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