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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0918.025 2012-2014 Testimony in Support of Resolution 452-14 ' To the County Council of the County of Hawaii July 16, 2014 I am testifying as a private citizen and as Executive Director of Recycle Hawai'i ca representing its members and Board of Directors. I was one of the 24-member Mayor's Solid Waste Advisory Committee that unanimously reported to the Mayor ar Council that waste-to-energy technology is not an economically feasible fix for Haw i Island's municipal solid waste (MSW) stream primarily due to the relatively low population base and low volume of discards after recycling and reuse. The Board of Directors and membership of Recycle Hawaii, at its June 22, 2014 annual membership meeting has taken the position that incineration as a solution to the island's solid waste stream should be the very last resort to be considered, if at all. There are reasons why the Solid Waste Advisory Committee in developing the "Integrated Resources/Solid Waste Management Plan," (IR/SWMP ), inserted the word "Resources" and appended the subtitle "On the Path to Zero Waste" in reaching for the statewide goal of a 50 percent landfill diversion rate. The Council subsequently adopted a zero waste goal resolution. The SWAC members, while unable to find a fiscally viable technological solution to this island's waste stream, does offer other combined and decentralized program options, including large scale composting operations where the bulk of organics that make up our waste stream can be processed in multiple localities without having to be long- hauled by the trailer load to processing facilities at central locations like Hilo or Pu'uanahulu. At a time when the planet is running down its resources, that last thing we need in an island community is to incentivize waste generation via the throwaway society by burning up resources for electricity when power can be gained through advances in alternative energy generation. Producing electricity out of the up to 70 percent of the waste stream that is and can be recycled or reused when alternative technological means of power production should be developed for the long haul, that is, renewable resources of solar, wave, wind and geothermal —that all should be the primary focus for meeting electrical generation needs into the future. The announcement of the short list to the "Waste Reduction Facility" proposal is made up of three obvious waste-to-energy (WTE) concerns with experience in managing municipal solid waste serving large metropolitan areas with many contiguous communities feeding those streams. These communities' MSW are not realistically comparable to the relatively small volume of waste produced on this island. Our objective in Recycle Hawaii's taking a stand against WTE at this stage is to question how these shortlisted corporations will achieve a viable operation without seriously c' comm. N �' b' Ref.To: Gt1� Ref. Date-2 ^ eroding our efforts to better utilize resources by producing mulch and compost to satisfy a growing demand by sustainable agriculturalists here on the island. With a mass burn facility, will the taxpayers here eventually be paying the difference in penalties to the contractor for not being able to produce the volume of feedstock a mass burn incinerator requires? WTE may be one of the preferred solutions for large metropolitan areas; however, we at Recycle Hawaii feel that burning resources incentivizes waste of resources. Unless the viability of the proposed responses to Phase 1 in terms of economy of scale and sustainability can be proven before the County considers entering into a long-term contract, there will continue to be push back in opposition to incineration. Recycle Hawaii supports any initiatives that include decentralized large-scale commercial composting of green waste and other organics as an integral component in utilizing resources readily available to make compost for agricultural applications and respectfully requests the Council's consideration of Ms. Wille's Resolution 452-14. On behalf of the Board and membership of Recycle Hawai'i Paul J. Buklarewicz, Executive Director P 0 Box 4847 Hilo HI 96720 969-2012 a r