HomeMy WebLinkAboutLetter to Council on recyclable landfill ban draft bill
County of Hawai‘i
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION
345 Kekūanāo‘a St. Suite 41 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 • Ph: (808) 961-8083 • Fax: (808) 961-8086
Georjean Adams
Chair
Jon Olson
Vice Chair
Mitchell D. Roth
Mayor
Ramzi I. Mansour
Director, Department of
Environmental Management
MEMORANDUM
DATE: November 29, 2023
TO: Heather Kimball, Council Chair
and Hawai’i County Council Members
FROM: Georjean Adams, Chair
Environmental Management Commission
RE: Proposed Draft Bill to Begin Banning the Landfill of Recyclable Materials
Ramzi Mansour, Director of Environmental Management, has projected that the only operating
solid waste sanitary landfill in Hawaii County (West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill or WHSL) is
expected to have capacity for only another 20 -25 years.
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 the DEM can use multiple methods to achieve
this reduction, the EMC recommends developing a phased program to ban the landfilling of
designated categories of reusable/recyclable materials. On July 26, 2023, the Environmental
Management Commission supported developing an ordinance under Hawai‘i County Code
Chapter 20 to begin the process of requiring diversion for designated reusable/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 EMC, 2) develop rules that designate categories of reusable/recyclable materials
that are prohibited from landfilling by designated waste generators, and 3) periodically expand or
revise these lists as feasibility may change.
A draft bill for an ordinance is attached as a starting point for discussion. The draft also includes
preliminary thoughts for funding the DEM to implement the bill, as well as recognizing the need
to renegotiate current collection and recycling county contracts and considering incentive credits
for expanded private services to collect and recycle wastes on island.
Note that the draft bill has not been approved verbatim by the EMC, but rather is offered to help
focus discussions with stakeholders. The intent is to get this conversation started.
Please advise us of the next steps with the Council regarding exploring a proposed bill to ban
landfilling of designated recyclable wastes.
Sincerely,
Georjean Adams, Chair
Environmental Management Commission
Transmitted pursuant to approval of motions on September 27, 2023 and November 29, 2023.
Attachment: Draft ordinance for Council: Recyclables landfill ban
c: Ramzi Mansour, Director of Environmental Management