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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-09 SWAC Meeting Minutes SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI Meeting Minutes Wednesday, May 9, 2018 1:10 p.m. to 3:21 p.m. Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) 1055 Kinoʻole Street, Suite 101 Hilo, HI 96720 Committee Members Present: Georjean Adams Barbara Bell Paul Buklarewicz Robert Ely George Hayducsko, Chair Alan Okinaka, Vice Chair Adam Scharf Staff Present: Keyra Wong, Deputy Corporation Counsel Diane Noda, Deputy Director Gregory Goodale, Solid Waste Division Chief Gene Quiamas, Environmental Compliance Specialist Tina DeMello, Secretary Mary Fujio, Assistant Secretary Not Present: Steven Araujo Others Present: Dwight Miller, Consultant Neal Fukumoto, Consultant Dennis Lee, Consultant 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Hayducsko called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Buklarewicz said a correction was needed on page 11, where there is a reference to “Mr.” Bell rather than Ms. Bell. Motion and vote: Ms. Bell moved to approve the minutes as corrected, Mr. Okinaka seconded the motion, and all members present voted aye. 3. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC There were no members of the public present. 4. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Distribute a copy of the 2009 County of Hawai‘i Integrated Resources and Solid Waste Management Plan (“IRSWMP”) update to the Committee Members Chair Hayducsko distributed copies to the members who so requested. Ms. Adams said she would like copies available for members to view at all future meetings. b. Overview by George Hayducsko of the Diverted and Landfill Tonnage and the Cost of Recycling Programs. Chair Hayducsko gave a PowerPoint overview on the percentage and tonnage of materials managed and diverted from the landfill. He also gave an overview of the cost of the recycling diversion programs. The main points of his presentation are summarized below: · FY 2016-17 Tonnage of Materials Managed o Landfill: 195,162 o Greenwaste: 40,465 o Other Reuse & Recycling Programs: 19,330 · FY 2016-17 Percentage of Materials Managed o Landfill: 76% o Greenwaste: 16% o Other Reuse & Recycling Programs: 8% · FY 2016-17 Tonnage of Materials Diverted from the Landfill o Greenwaste: 40,465 o Metal/Automobiles: 9,075 o Glass: 4,935 o Old Corrugated Cardboard (OCC)/Paper: 3,575 o Plastics (1,2 &5): 1,043 o Reuse Centers: 350 o E-waste: 235 o Household Hazardous Waste: 93 o Used Motor Oil (UMO): 24 · FY 2016-17 Percentage of Materials Diverted from the Landfill o Greenwaste: 68% o Metal/Automobiles: 15% o Glass: 8% o Old Corrugated Cardboard (OCC)/Paper: 6% o Plastics (1,2 &5): 2% o Reuse Centers: 1% o E-waste: less than 1% o Household Hazardous Waste: less than 1% o Used Motor Oil (UMO): less than 1% · Diversion Program Contracted Expenses and Cost per Ton (Utilizing FY2016- 17 Disposal Report Data) o Greenwaste Contracted Expenses: $4,205,675 Cost per Ton: $104 o Metal/Automobiles Contracted Expenses: $945,338 Cost per Ton: $104 o 2-Bin Recycling Contracted Expenses: $1,018,060 Cost per Ton: $170 o Reuse Centers Contracted Expenses: $211,209 Cost per Ton: $603 o E-waste Contracted Expenses: $192,071 Cost per Ton: $817 o Household Hazardous Waste Contracted Expenses: $220,406 Cost per Ton: $2,370 o Used Motor Oil (UMO) Contracted Expenses: $25,723 Cost per Ton: $1,072 Ms. Bell asked whether there was a landfill cost per ton, and Mr. Goodale replied that it cost approximately $145 to put a ton into the landfill. Vice Chair Okinaka asked whether the contracted expenses discount the fees that are paid to take things to the landfill, and Chair Hayducsko said no, that it is the cost the County pays to the contractor. It is the cost to the County. Mr. Buklarewicz commented that the increase in cost for e-waste went up about 3 cents per pound. Recycle Hawai‘i had pulled in 225 tons in a 12-month period, and it was about 38 cents per pound. This is based on a 3-year average for both East and West Hawaiʻi. Ms. Bell said that at some point she would like to know the net prices of greenwaste minus tip fee. She would like to see the overall cost to determine whether the greenwaste tip fee is too high or too low. Chair Hayducsko answered he would have that number for the next meeting. Mr. Buklarewicz asked whether the Used Motor Oil (UMO) figure includes what is collected at the Household Hazardous Waste Collection (HHWC) events, or whether it is separate. Chair Hayducsko said the chart they were looking at shows the UMO collected by both the DIY UMO vendors, and the UMO collected at the HHWC events is listed under the HHWC event. Mr. Goodale explained that the County is charged by the gallon for the UMO collected by the UMO vendor at the UMO volunteer collection sites, and the County is charged primarily a lump sum for all the waste collected during the HHWC events. Mr. Okinaka asked how DEM determines the tonnage of greenwaste, and Chair Hayducsko said there is a scale that weighs all the greenwaste. If the greenwaste comes from a business, there will be a charge for it. If it comes from a transfer station through the public, it is weighed but there is no charge. 5. NEW BUSINESS a. Overview by George Hayducsko of the 2009 IRSWMP Chair Hayducsko handed out a draft on the status of Hawaiʻi County’s 2009 IRSWMP and explained that it shows items recommended in that plan and the status of those recommendations. Some recommendations were implemented, and some were not. The status is not yet updated on all the recommendations that are listed. As an example, he pointed out a recommendation to expand and improve public education and awareness. The status shows that there has been no dedicated public education and awareness program since June 2014. Mr. Buklarewicz commented that education is the most important factor if the population is to recycle. Chair Hayducsko agreed that education is critical and explained that DEM’s website is maintained, facility tours are provided, and they issue press releases, advertise, and do presentations. However, they do not have staff to design an education program. Mr. Scharf asked whether the consultant will be writing a new draft plan or will be working from the former plan. Mr. Miller explained that this is a great tool to determine how we implemented the current plan, and a new plan will be produced to follow through. Vice Chair Okinaka asked whether they would get a breakdown of what was not implemented from the old plan, and Ms. Adams asked about they would be reevaluating the old recommendations and solutions. Chair Hayducsko replied that they would be coming up with ideas, and the ideas will be put in front of staff and the consultants for inclusion into the plan. b. Overview by George Hayducsko of the 2-Bin Recycling Program Chair Hayducsko gave a presentation on recyclable materials and explained that having clean recyclables is always important and highly recommended, and more so now that China and other Asian countries are allowing very little contamination. There is a lot of contamination, however, in DEM’s 2-bin recycle bins. HI5 items should be recycled at certified redemption centers rather than be placed into the 2-bin recycling bins. Plastic containers numbered 1, 2, and 5 are accepted in the 2-bin recycling containers. It is important for people to look at the number on these containers before putting them into the bins at the transfer stations. Education is critical. The County contracts with Business Services Hawai‘i (BSH) to collect, transport, process, and market the recyclables from the 2-bin recycling program. BSH takes the recyclables back to their facility, where individuals sort out the materials in a sorting line. HI5 glass bottles get shipped intact off the island, as required by the Department of Health. 2-bin glass gets recycled and used on the island. County recycling staff inspects that the HI5 cans and bottles are labeled properly at both retail locations and Certified Redemption Centers (CRCs). Chair Hayducsko announced a short break. Recess was held from 1:56 p.m. to 2:02 p.m., at which time he called the meeting back to order. c. Presentation by the Department of Environmental Management’s Consultant regarding the ISWMP Rewrite Methodology Chair Hayducsko introduced our Dwight Miller, who would be providing the plan outline and schedule. Mr. Miller explained that he is with Parametrix and has been in Hawaiʻi for about 32 years. He worked on Maui’s SWMP back in the early 1990s and has worked on miscellaneous parts of plans since then. He does a lot of solid waste planning as well as a full spectrum of solid waste work in facility planning, design construction, and so on. He said that Chair Hayducsko’s earlier handout on the recommendations from the 2009 plan and status informs the current SWAC as they go forward into the 2019 plan. They are essentially learning from the 2009 plan on what was recommended, how the recommendations were implemented, what could not be implemented, and then using all that information coming into the new planning effort. 1) Plan Outline Mr. Miller provided a PowerPoint of the plan outline and summarized the topics. Several SWAC members provided comments during the presentation. · Solid Waste Priorities and Practices with reference to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes Section 342G-2. o Landfill and Transfer Stations – Support System o Recyclers require a higher grade of material · Background on fiscal year 2017 on landfill and waste diversion. o Solid Waste Annual Reports o Diversion Incentive Program, where the County used to pay for data. There is no longer a financial incentive for businesses to provide data. o Chair Hayducsko said he hopes to ask commercial entities for recycling data. o Require recyclers to provide recycling data; it takes a really long time for data to get into the system. - Ms. Bell said she would like at least the last ten years of annual reports. · Background on Demographics and Projections o Project out waste stream o Increase per capita - population per capita per day in ten years o County of Hawaiʻi (COH) population percent change estimate (2010-2017): 8.3% o State percent change estimate (2010-2017): 5.0 % o COH projected growth rate (2010-2040): .5% o State projected growth rate (2010-2040): .8% · Background on Tourism o Tourist projection (2015-2040): 7.5 million - just under 10 million · Summary Status of 2009 Recommendations: What does it mean and what do we see going forward: 1. Funding constraints 2. Commodity Markets - limited recycling opportunities 3. Tip fees implemented 4. Expanded greenwaste drop-off 5. Enhanced Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and E-Waste Programs 6. Reconstructing transfer stations - HOVE and Wai‘ōhinu 7. Closing the South Hilo Sanitary Landfill (SHSL); transferring waste to the West Hawaiʻi Sanitary Landfill (WHSL) · SWAC’s Role o Recommendations utilizing the current status of existing conditions o Alternatives development § Doing the planning process for the next ten years § What more can be done on island? Greenwaste; compost; food waste; organics; composting programs - Mr. Scharf suggested pig feed. - Ms. Adams said she would like to look at a change of technologies and smaller units. · Planning Approach o Involving the SWAC; gathering ideas and how they will work o Developing a pragmatic plan by implementing recommendations o Maintaining and implementing the plan - Ms. Adams recommended bringing in someone from Kauaʻi to talk about curbside pickup. Mr. Goodale agreed it would be good to evaluate curbside service and the areas where it could be implemented, given the rural nature of the island. - Mr. Miller added that a 23% diversion rate with a system that does not have curbside service or mandatory recycling is really great. · Public Review: DOH review and public to comment · Public Review and Completion · Action Items o Short-Term § Background § Field Visits § Alternatives Development o Mid-Term § ISWMP Review and Update § Interim Draft Review o Long-Term § Preliminary Draft Review § Final Draft Review § Public Hearings Mr. Miller explained that the SWAC will bring ideas to the table, and he will be providing a printout of the methodology, a memorandum, a review of past recommendation, data collection, infrastructure and human infrastructure, and develop a draft by November. The SWAC will take field trips and have additional meetings. Topics will be reviewed around the key areas as opposed to working on a chapter at a time. Mr. Scharf asked Mr. Miller what his best success story was, and Mr. Miller responded that in Washington, he did a back-to-back plan. It was a very realistic and up front plan, and it included recycling and facility improvement. He also worked on a study of curbside collection of recyclables and trash pickup for an urban county. Mr. Scharf asked Mr. Miller whether it is hard to convince a community to implement new technology into the infrastructure and whether he had insight on that. Mr. Miller said you don’t want to hang the whole plan on technology. A feasibility study would help to get deeper on waste characteristics so they would know what they’re dealing with. Chair Hayducsko explained that he had asked the committee members to delete/recycle the contract that was sent to them earlier via email and replace it with the hard copy provided today, as the copy sent via email has proprietary information. Vice Chair Okinaka asked for clarification about the term “update the plan” and whether it was assumed the former plan is quite solid and the backbone for how solid waste management will be addressed for the next several decades. Chair Hayducsko said he feels the current SWAC will help design the best plan they can with today’s knowledge. The plan is something that is never truly finished, as new ways of doing things always come along. They will do their best to look into the future, figure out what to do, and provide the roadmap. Mr. Goodale added that a lot of different methodologies have been looked at on disposing of trash, recycling, and diversion; and the reality is that over the years there has not been a lot of change. DEM sees the update to the plan as incorporating whatever new technologies would make sense. Some methodologies have gotten better, and they need to figure out how the County can do better. No one wants to look at the plan as just maintaining the status quo or being stagnant. The update is to make it better for the whole County. It is a state mandate for the plan to be updated every ten years, but the reality is that the plan is looked at and used frequently by DEM. His copy of the plan is dog-eared and tagged all over. The overall system, however, can always be improved. He does not want the program to be inflexible or rigid. 2) Schedule Mr. Miller provided the schedule via PowerPoint and said it would be emailed to the members. d. Discuss proposed limited meeting and site visit for June 13, 2018: The proposed sites to visit on June 13, 2018 are Pāhoa Recycling and Transfer Station, Kea‘au Recycling and Transfer Station, Hilo Recycling and Transfer Station, South Hilo Sanitary Landfill, East Hawai‘i Organics Facility and East Hawai‘i Regional Sort Station. Areas of these site visits would be potentially dangerous to the health and safety of the public and impracticable for the public to take part in all sections of these site visits, it is recommended that the Committee approve a limited meeting for the site visits pursuant to Hawai‘i Revised Statues § 92-3.1, subject to concurrence and approval of the director of the Office of Information Practices. Motion and second: Ms. Adams moved that the committee approve a limited meeting on June 13, 2018, for informational and education purposes and for the committee members to gain an understanding of the County’s various facilities and how each one operates. The proposed sites are the Pāhoa, Keaʻau, and Hilo Recycling and Transfer Stations, the South Hilo Sanitary Landfill, East Hawaiʻi Organics Facility, and East Hawaiʻi Sort Station. As the areas of the proposed site visits would be potentially dangerous to the health and safety of the public and impracticable for the public to take part in, it is recommended that the Committee approve a limited meeting pursuant to HRS 92.3-1, subject to the director of the Office of Information Practices and, she would add, Pele. Vice Chair Okinaka seconded the motion. Ms. Bell asked why the public could not be invited, and Ms. Wong explained that realistically, it is impracticable for the public to be present for this limited meeting and there are potential dangers. Mr. Goodale added that only commercial haulers go into the sort station, and that from a logistics and safety standpoint, the meeting should be limited. DEM does provide opportunities for groups to tour the facilities upon request. Vice Chair Okinaka called for the question. Vote: All members voted aye except for Ms. Bell. Ms. Wong said that if the meeting was a regular meeting, it would also need to be ADA compliant. Chair Hayducsko proposed to amend the agenda to discuss having a similar site visit in July on the west side of the island, and he asked if anyone would move to amend the agenda to add this. Motion and vote: Ms. Bell moved to amend the agenda to discuss a similar limited meeting and site visit in July in West Hawaiʻi. Vice Chair Okinaka seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. The facilities to be visited in West Hawaiʻi were discussed. Chair Hayducsko said they would have staff available to explain what they would be viewing. Ms. Bell said that as she is the closest resident to the Puakō Transfer Station, they can either start or end the tour there and have refreshments at her home. Motion and vote: Ms. Bell moved that the committee approve a limited meeting on July 11, 2018, for informational and education purposes and for the committee members to gain an understanding of the County’s various facilities and how each one operates. The proposed sites are the West Hawaiʻi Sanitary Landfill, West Hawaiʻi Organics Facility, the RMP used motor oil drop-off, and the Waimea Recycling and Transfer Station. Vice Chair Okinaka seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. Vice Chair Okinaka asked what a sanitary landfill is as opposed to an unsanitary one. Chair Hayducsko said a sanitary landfill is engineered to protect the environment. Mr. Goodale added that the biggest advancement is the daily covering of the waste. 6. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Vice Chair Okinaka said he would like to learn about some new technologies that are being deployed, not just nationwide but in the world, to handle solid waste. He would like to know their effectiveness, not just economically but in keeping communities safe and healthy. Mr. Scharf said the lieutenant colonel at his base is interested in meeting with Mr. Goodale and Chair Hayducsko to discuss possibly partnering with the County on reducing operating costs. He has some very good ideas and lots of information to share. It may also make sense for him to speak with the SWAC. Ms. Adams suggested having Bioenergy Hawaiʻi speak with them. They are in the permitting process to provide a waste-to-energy and recycling facility on the west side of the island, and they are looking at different technologies to implement at the site. 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS Chair Hayducsko said the next regular meeting needed to be scheduled and asked if the second Wednesday in August (August 8) would work for everybody, at the same location. The date was agreed upon. Discussion was held on what time the limited meetings in June and July would start and where they would meet. Mr. Hayducsko said the information would be sent out once they had it finalized. 8. ADJOURNMENT Motion and vote: Mr. Buklarewicz moved to adjourn, Mr. Scharf seconded the motion, and all members voted aye. The meeting adjourned at 3:21 p.m. Respectfully submitted: Tina DeMello, Secretary