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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0127.001 2014-2016Margaret Wille Council Member District 9 - North and South Kohala Hawai'i County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 TO: FROM: DATE: HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai `i Holomua Center 64-1067 Mamalahoa Highway, Suite C-5 Waimea, Hawaii 96743 Dru Mamo Kanuha, Council Chair and Members of the Hawaii County Council Margaret Wille, Council Member February 27, 2015 Phone No. Hilo: (808) 961-8027 Phone No. Waimea: (808) 887-2043 Fax No.: (808) 887-2072 E -Mail: mwille@co.hawaii.hi.us West Hawai'i Civic Center Bldg. A 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i ,96740 �i SUBJECT: Proposed Amendment to Resolution No. 84-15; A Resolution Urging the Mayor to Enter into Multi -Year Contracts to Establish Regional and Community -Based Organic Compost Operations in the County of Hawaii Please find attached a proposed amendment to Resolution No. 84-15. The amendment is illustrated below in Ramseyer format with respect to the contents of Resolution No. 84-15; material to be deleted is bracketed and stricken through. A draft copy of Resolution No. 84-15, Draft 2, is attached with the proposed amendments incorporated. The tenth Whereas clause is amended to read as follows: "WHEREAS, it is in the County's best interest to enter into multi-year contracts to establish organic compost operations in the County [based on ^ for yeaf agreement with the option for- two extensions (r;.,e .oafs eh)]; and" MW/dh Att. Comm. N �.%. Ref. To: Nt L Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Ref. Date Hawai'i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer February 27, 2015 Page 2 of 3 A RESOLUTION URGING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO MULTI-YEAR CONTRACTS TO ESTABLISH REGIONAL AND COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIC COMPOST OPERATIONS IN THE COUNTY OF HAWAII. WHEREAS, Council Resolution No. 28-03, Draft 2, pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes §342G-2, affirms that each county adopt solid waste management practices in the following order of priority: (1) source reduction; (2) recycling and bioconversion, including composting; and (3) landfilling and incineration; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 356-07, Draft 2, a resolution to embrace and adopt the principles of zero waste as a long-term goal for Hawaii County, was adopted on December 19, 2007; and WHEREAS, the 2009 County of Hawaii Integrated Resources and Solid Waste Management Plan Update — The Path to Zero Waste identified that 55.5%, or 116,550 tons, of the waste disposed at County landfills were paper and organic materials that could be composted, thereby preserving valuable landfill space; and WHEREAS, the 2009 Zero Waste Implementation Plan for the County of Hawaii states that "While the County is moving towards increased diversion of discarded materials, focusing on recycling and composting, 70% of what is currently generated continues to be landfilled, and it is this material that will provide resources, revenue and jobs required to support the island's sustainability."; and WHEREAS, compost is organic matter that has been processed aerobically by microscopic heterotrophic organisms and, in some systems, earthworms and micro -arthropods are employed; and WHEREAS, composting is important for the following reasons: • Recycled organic matter lowers methane production in landfills; • Creates a soil amendment that elevates the health and quality of soil; • Provides carbon to soil, which is deficient in most farm systems; • Increases the soil's ability to infiltrate and hold precious water; • Reduces the need for synthetic, imported, expensive, polluting nitrogen; February 27, 2015 Page 3 of 3 • Reduces the need for imported phosphate and potassium; • Increases the sustainability, yield, and quality of food raised on farm land; • Creates quality jobs for making and applying compost; and WHEREAS, in contrast to organic mulch, which is ground green waste and other woody materials, compost has a higher value as it has undergone a significant degree of microbial decomposition that requires controlled variables such as nutrient balance, moisture, particle size, oxygen, and temperature; and WHEREAS, all compost produced must meet the standards of the U.S. Composting Council Seal of Testing Assurance Program, and compost applied to certified organic land and crops must meet the standards of the National Organic Program; and WHEREAS, the Director of the Department of Environmental Management has not yet designed and implemented a County -wide plan to divert food, paper, and compostable organics from landfills or incineration; and WHEREAS, it is in the County's best interest to enter into multi-year contracts to establish organic compost operations in the County; and WHEREAS, the contract may additionally include a two-year transition period during which the contractor(s) are not obligated to maximize the production of compost; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII that it strongly urges the Mayor to enter into multi-year contracts to establish regional and community- based organic compost operations in the County of Hawaii BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Honorable Mayor William P. Kenoi, the Director of Environmental Management, and the Director of Finance.