HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0111.002 2014-2016Margaret Wille
Council Member
District 9 - North and South Kohala
Hawaii County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai'i 96720
HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL
County of Hawai `i
Holomua Center
64-1067 Mamalahoa Highway, Suite C-5
Waimea, Hawaii 96743
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
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TO: Dru Mamo Kanuha, Council Chair
And Members of the Hawai `i Count Council —�
FROM: ✓Margaret Wille, Council Member
DATE: March 16, 2015 _.
cc
SUBJECT: Additional Information for Resolution 73-15
Please find attached additional information for reference during the Resolution 73-15 discussion
on March 17, 2015.
Thank you.
MW/dh
att
Comm. No. 1 1 1 • Z
Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Ref. To:
Hawai `i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employertef, 0101e MAN 1715
§10.61 Introduction and Description
Solid Waste Management Facilities
Solid waste nlunogcnocnt has significant effects on the hmu1{h` aesthetic, and land use
characteristics o[ucommunity. The County maintains two landfill sites, one active
|ondO|| in east Hawaii in Ui/o, and another active |ondD|| in West Ruvvuii at Puuenubu-
|o. /n addition, there are twenty-one solid waste transfer sites throughout the island.
Tbcoouuagcmcnto[soUdwusioonUeioboJhusundc/oouesigniOcantchangosinthc
past few decades. Prior hothe cudy 7970`s solid waste disposal was handled through
aminformal network n[open dumpsiicsnear major rcyiden(iu|townxuvuundihuis|and.
From the mid- |470`o` a xys0con o[rcsidcnhul transfer stations was developed and up-
dated landfill operations vvcrc implemented at tile I Illo and KailUa landfill.
p'dutcd|and0|operudonavvcrcimp|cmcntcdutthoUi|oand|{oi|uu|undfiU. In |994,u
new landfill was constructed at PUUanahulu in compliance with I-ederal environmental
and health standards. That sunncyear. the |undfi|| in Kai|uu was closed and continues
|obemonitored.
Currently. residents take their solid waste k`any one o[2| transfer stations around the
island. The solid waste is then hauled ioeither the Ui|u or Puuunuhu|u |undOUo. /n
some uocue, residents pay private haulers to pick-up their refuse from their residences
for disposal at |undO|i
The County's solid waste mv»k:o continues k`evolve tomeet the requirements *[State
and Federal regulations and the public. For example, the State o[Hawaii's Integrated
Solid Waste Management Ad includes waste reduction Ana|x of 25 per cent by 1995
and 50per cent by 2000. Both the County and the State asunhn|chas fbi|cd to meet
the desired goal o[50per cent hIZ00U. Toreach this goal o[50per cent, the County
needs to implement ail integrated solid waste management system. However, there are
barriers to implementing this solid waste management syutcm.
° /\ recycling ethic ianot yet firm |yrooted among Umvuii`ypeople and businesses.
° Waste disposal appears to be cheap and easy. The actual cost o[dumping is not
readily evident topeople.
° The high cost ofoperating areuyc\iogbusiness in Hawaii.
" Local rcoIoicd nnu*chu|s markets are underdeveloped, and uuuexs to out of state
markets are expensive due (uBuv/oii'sisolated geography,
Overcoming these barriers is possible but it will require a commitment of energy and
resources hnm the public and private sectors. In August Of 1993, thc Department of
Public Works published an |n(cgna\nd Solid Waste Management Plan for the County
of Hawaii. The major objective of the plan was to "...provide o foundation for deci-
sion making that would guide solid waste management oil thc is|und.^ |twas not in-
tended to provide specific details mn the day to day operation of solid waste
management programs. but rather to provide assistance to the County administration
and Council as to tile type of prograrns to flund, implement , and administer.
Hawaii County General Plan 10-23
~
81U.5]:Introduction and Description
Each County must Update its Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan inthe near fu-
ture. Ruvvoii [oun1y'n update is still undcrrtviuw. This umJu(c will address acvcru|
major issues facing the County at this tinle.
Sorncissues examined by this plan are the Closure of-1hcSouth Hilo Landfill, user fee
approach, and siting o[rural transfer stations. The Hilo landfill is an unlined landfill
that was permitted tocontinue operations until October, 1998. Tile State Department
of Health is reviewing the application for five-year extension of the Hilo |u/dfil| for
additional time to develop an alternative means ofhandling the solid waste from East
Hawaii. 0pbnnx such as o nna,c/io| recovery Cuci|ityY|ong haul transfer station that
would minimize solid waste to be hauled and disposed of at the PilLianahLilu landfill, or
the development oFnew technologies to manage east Hunxii refuse would bcconsid-
Tipping fees account for 35 per cent o[revenue Uooperate the Solid Waste Diviskon.
The remainder o[the funds needed (ooperate the division comes from the general
fund. Various options have been studied. The mogrecent is Pay -As -You -Throw
concept where each resident and business is assessed a f`ee based on the amount of sol-
id waste disposed. This poograru would help to pronl/tc greater recycling and diver-
sion
ivcpaion to minimize the amount of refuse being disposed n[mt landfills. However. the
most effective means o[nnaking u Pay -As -You -Throw prngruno work is to implement
curb -side pickup. The question becomes how best lotransition from u puh|ioaocuy-
{vmcd to self -hauling to utransfer station. topaying uprivate hauler or increase taxes
6nrthe County tocommence this service,
Solid waste transfer stations normally were sited uiaprc-cxistingold community open
dump. These sites were located based onpopulation centers 3O-40years ago. I lowev-
er, with the development of new Subdivisions and the expansion of . existing communi-
ties, some of the existing transfer stations may no longer be located at thc most
convenient site toserve the majority ufrosidcnb.
The illegal disposal of solid waste continues tobcaproblem throughout the County.
|||cga| dumping is u visual nuisance to residents udiuocnt to these dumps as well as u
health hazard tothe rest o[|hecommunity, Illegal dumping lacks the necessary safety
precautions that prevent hazardous materials and pollutants /tmn contaminating soil
and ground water sources,
Cemeteries
As of July 1, 2000. management of_County cerneteries was transferred from the COUn-
ty's Department o(Public Works tnthe Department o[Parks and Rccrcudon, The
County has 21 public ccnuctcrica. The size n[cemeteries ranges from one-half acre (u
,
10-24Hawaii County General Plan