HomeMy WebLinkAboutADF-POS letter to DEM
County of Hawai‘i
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
25 Aupuni Street • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
Ph: (808) 961-8083 · Fax: (808) 961-8086
County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
Georjean Adams
Chair
Jon Olson
Vice Chair
Mitchell D. Roth
Mayor
Ramzi I. Mansour
Director, Department of
Environmental Management
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April 25, 2023
TO: Ramzi Mansour, Director
Department of Environmental Management
FROM: Georjean Adams, Chair
Environmental Management Commission
RE: Advanced Disposal and Point of Sale Fees for Solid Waste Management
Per the March 29, 2023, meeting of the Environmental Management Commission (EMC)
and discussion regarding the opinion by Deputy Corporation Counsel Keyra Wong, the EMC
requests that the Director of the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) contact the
State of Hawai‘i Department of Health’s Office of Solid Waste Management for the purpose of
inquiring about assessing the feasibility of employing disposal fees, pursuant to Chapter 342G-
14(6), Hawai‘i Revised Statutes. The EMC requests that the Director confer with the Office of
Solid Waste Management regarding the following:
1. Has the Office of Solid Waste Management recently assessed the feasibility of employing
Advanced Disposal Fees (ADF) and/or Point of Sale (POS) Fees to offset costs of waste
management and to help educate the public on the disposal impact of the products they
purchase beyond those currently covered by ADFs? If so, can Hawai‘i County DEM get a
copy of the assessment and/or report?
2. If the Office of Solid Waste Management has not recently conducted such a study, we
urge the Office to do so and report back to the counties on the assessment.
Potential products for fees include electronics, paper and plastic goods, paint, carpets and
other goods that could potentially be recycled if we had sufficient funds to support
reuse/recycling programs.
Please note that we are interested in fees that could be charged to the consumer up front
(such as with HI-5), rather than solely to the manufacturer or distributor. Our interest is not only
to obtain a stream of revenue for Hawai‘i County waste reduction programs, but also to educate
the consumer on the potential waste impacts of their purchasing decisions.