HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft letter to Council Chair regarding diversion ordinance
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: ___________
TO: Heather Kimball, Council Chair
and Hawai’i County Council Members
FROM: Georjean Adams, Chair
Environmental Management Commission
RE: Proposed Ordinance to Begin Banning the Landfill of Recyclable Wastes
Ramzi Mansour, Director of Environmental Management, has projected that the only operating
solid waste sanitary landfill in Hawai‘i County (West Hawai‘i Sanitary Landfill or WHSL) is
expected to have capacity for only another 15 to 25 years. The Council addressed the need to
look for landfill alternatives in its adoption of Resolution No. 73-23. The Environmental
Management Commission (EMC) does not believe the first approach should be a 2026 target “to
divert, as appropriate, all municipal solid waste to an on-island site that will sustainably process
the waste into carbon-negative cement, biochar, green hydrogen, and reclaimed water.”
The EMC recommends the County focus on the upper part of the waste hierarchy of reduce -
reuse - recycle. While the conversion of otherwise non-reusable and non-recyclable wastes to
some useful materials via carefully controlled pyrolysis may have some utility, the Council
should not encourage a cavalier attitude toward the generation of waste and the loss of reusable
and high-value recyclable materials. Optional language
The Environmental Management Commission’s preferred approach to extending the lifetime of
the WHSL is to set a target for the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to reduce
the amount of waste that is disposed there. While DEM can use multiple methods to achieve this
reduction, the EMC recommends developing a phased program to ban the landfilling of
reusable/recyclable wastes. On July 26, 2023, the Environmental Management Commission
supported development an ordinance under Hawai‘i County Code Chapter 20 to begin the
process of requiring diversion for designated recyclable materials from county landfill(s).
The ordinance would be structured to require the Department of Environmental Management
(DEM) to: 1) reduce the volumes of waste going to the landfill and to report its progress to the
Council and to EMC, 2) to develop rules that designate reusable/recyclable wastes that are
2
prohibited from landfilling by designated waste generators, and 3) to periodically expand or
revise these lists as feasibility may change.
A draft ordinance is attached to begin discussion. Some of the basic tenets:
• Do not significantly expand county services, other than education programs. Instead,
encourage private commercial recycling operations.
• Set a target for landfill disposal volume reduction for DEM to meet. Council would set
the targets and criteria for who and what would qualify for a landfill ban, but DEM would
issue public notice and comment rules to implement restrictions.
• Phase in the requirements, starting with what is currently recyclable. Periodically update
(add or delete) wastes and generators as markets and technologies change.
o It is hoped these bans would provide incentive for new and/or expanded
commercial hauling services who already collect recyclables or who could begin
new businesses by creating demand for diversion.
o Encourage the processing and recycling of materials on island (e.g., with grant
assistance).
• Prioritize diversion that will achieve significant reduction in landfilling.
• Mandate recycling only where it is favorable in terms of life cycle impacts.
• Mandate recycling only where it is economically feasible. (i.e., discourages littering)
o markets and available collection and recycling services must exist
o Designate recyclable waste generators only if they have reasonable access to
recycling services.
o Begin with commercial and large government waste generators who generate
steady streams of recyclables. Mandated residential recycling would only likely
be feasible where curbside collection is common.
• Allow small businesses and nonprofits to use the transfer stations for accepted
recyclables, perhaps with a small fee.
The attached draft also includes preliminary thoughts for funding the DEM to implement the
ordinance, as well as the need to renegotiate current collection and recycling county contracts
and to explore incentive credits for expanded private services to collect and recycle wastes on
island.
Please note that the draft ordinance has not been approved verbatim by the EMC, but rather is
offered as a starting point for discussion.
Please advise us of next steps with the Council regarding a proposed ordinance to ban landfilling
of recyclable wastes.
Transmitted pursuant to approval of a motion by EMC on (Date)
C: Ramzi Mansour, Director, Environmental Management