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MAY-28-04 FAI 11:32 AM CofH Clzrical Center FAX:808 933 1529 PAGE 1 r~E9~r 2~s 1~ "Trash '.Calk" C" COUi i, , , The sky is not falling. }3ut the Hilo landfill needs to close soon. The County needs to ac:t now. The Hilo landfill will reach capacity soon. Present estimates are sometime in 2006. Failure to act now will wind up costing all of us money and iacrease the number of trash-filled trailers traveling our roads. The Milo landfill needs to close not only because it is reaching its capacity, but also in order to protect groundwater. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that landfills like the one in Hilo, do not adequately protect our health and environment. County officials have developed a solid waste plan to comply with EPA a~~i llepartment of health regulations. Among the plan's goals arc to minimize the cost to taxpayers and to protect the environment. County officials have decided that a Sort Station would help us manage our waste. ' A Sort Station will provide a centralized place in east Hawai i where recyclable items can be sorted from the garbage. Recycling reduces the amount of trash that needs to go into the Hito landfill thereby extending the life of the landfill. The longer the landfill's life is extended, the fewer trailers of garbage that need to be transported up the IIamakua coast and through Waimea. When the I Iilo landfill closes, the Sort Station will allow the County to consolidate trash into fewer trailers fot transport to Ri uanahulu. In fact, the Sort Station should reduce projected trash traffic to Pu'uanahulu from more than 90 trucks a day down to ] 0 - 12. An aggressive recycling program reduces fresh trailer traffic, saves money, saves landfill space, creates private sector jobs, increases economic diversification, and creates valuable commodities. It also buys the County time to determine whether expensive high-technology solutions can be effective. Honolulu, Kauai and Maui have struggled unsuccessfully for years to find alternatives to landfilling. Many Big Island residents have voiced objections to an incinerator -tike II-Power in Honolulu. In any case, it will be years before such an expensive plant could be built given the cotnplexities of financing, permitting, construction and community acceptance. Those are some of the reasons that the County's F,nvironmental Management Commission supports the County administration's plan to build a Sort Station now. The commission is made up of a diverse group of citizens: engineers, tree-huggers, former government officials, government critics, West Iiawai i and East Hawaii residents. 13ut we all agree that the Sort Station is acost-effective meets of addressing the impending crisis. Unfortunately, severe! well-intentioned Councilmcmbcrs think they can saes money by delaying the administration from building the Sort Station. They think that a private vendor will build one for us. They may be right -AND we will still wind up Comm. Na S Z~•S ~ ,I oaf. To: Fief. Cate