Over half of the garbage going into the landfill is green waste, paper and food scraps, according to a September 2008 waste composition study. Plastic, aluminum, glass, newspaper and other recyclables are steadily being removed from the waste stream, but not as quickly as first anticipated.
By NANCY COOK LAUER
Stephens Media
In the short term, it costs a lot more to recycle than to just toss everything in the landfill. But landfill life is limited, and creating a new lined landfill under updated Environmental Protection Agency rules could run into the millions of dollars.
That’s the thinking behind the county Department of Environmental Management, which is working feverishly to remove recyclables, green waste and organic materials from the county’s garbage before it ever hits the mountains of garbage building up at the West Hawaii landfill, but especially at the Hilo landfill, which, in December 2009, had an estimated lifespan of only five to eight more years.
The County Council and the administration agree the goals are worthy.
But both sides have recently butted heads over the best way to accomplish these goals.
An administration move for after-the-fact changes to specifications for a green waste contract last month was rejected by the majority of council members, who feared the contract was being tailor-made for a specific contractor. The Department of Environmental Management withdrew its request, fearing the contract resolution would be voted down.
A spokeswoman said the department is considering its next step.
The council this week will consider another contract, this one for recycling, after it was put off in the face of opposition from smaller recycling haulers, who say the contract is written so only a very few big recycling haulers can compete.
And earlier this month, Council Chairman Dominic Yagong and Mayor Billy Kenoi took their disagreements to a new, political level, with Yagong accusing the mayor of kowtowing to public-sector unions rather than looking out for the taxpayers’ best interest by refusing to consider a public-private partnership to use a $9.3 million sort station that currently sits idle.
Over half of the garbage going into the landfill is green waste, paper and food scraps, according to a September 2008 waste composition study. Plastic, aluminum, glass, newspaper and other recyclables are steadily being removed from the waste stream, but not as quickly as first anticipated.