HomeMy WebLinkAboutVII.2.1.1 - Actions to Reduce Landfill Volumes by Waste TypeDRAFT 10/28/22. Georjean Adams
DRAFT Actions to Reduce Landfill Volumes by Waste Type 1
1. Establish dedicated construction & demolition landfills east and west side. Lower cost
and lower hazard than traditional sanitary landfill. Couple with promotion of
deconstruction for reuse services (Reuse Hawaii, donations to Habitat for Humanity,
expand capabilities of Transfer Station Reuse Centers, materials exchange website).
[>20%]
2. Support diversion of paper fiber [>20%]
a. Improved quality (through education) and collection rates (additional collection
sites and pickups, as well as compactors) for corrugated cardboard
b. development of mixed paper baling and transport to markets
c. subsidizing shredding operations for use in composting
3. Support composting of residential food waste. (Commercial food waste is most likely
already diverted to pig farmers.) [16%]2
a. Subsidize home composter equipment
b. Collect residential food waste at Transfer Stations and at HER facility
c. Implement revised contract with HER to compost food waste3
d. Develop collection service for food waste in denser communities, including
education component
4. Ban greenwaste from landfill. [~7%]2
a. Support home composting
b. Increase collection at additional transfer stations
c. Consider financial incentive for diversion
5. Plastic packaging is easily compacted and thus is not a high volume contributor to our
landfill. [~5%]
a. Collect and compact for shipment for fuel use for HPower Oahu (may also be a
revenue source)
b. Consider selected bans
c. Support plastics recycling industries on island
d. Monitor markets for various plastics; be flexible to expand Transfer Station
collection and recycling as they become feasible.
e. Improve HI5 collection via education, more collection sites, higher
fee/redemption, expansion to include wine and liquor, allowing small businesses
to use Transfer Stations
1 Most percentage calculations for landfill composition are based on weight rather than volume, but it is volume
that determines when a landfill is full. Recommendations are ordered by landfill weight as surrogate for volume
per 2009 composition study cited in ISWMP. Weight Percent in indicated in brackets. Values may vary by a few
percentage points, but the order is likely to still be correct.
2 Organic waste will eventually degrade to negligible volume, but will generate greenhouse gas from the landfill
that may need to be collected.
3 Where county does not have to do all the collecting of food wastes, which is how I read the current contract.
DRAFT 10/28/22. Georjean Adams
f. Work with big box stores and grocery stores to allow customers to return clean
plastic packaging waste (bring your reusable bags full of empty containers when
you go shopping).