Honolulu Organic Waste Recycling Effort to Save Landfill Space

Date: July 15, 2010

Source: News Room

The city and county of Honolulu, Hawaii has contracted with a local company to compost green waste, food waste and sewage sludge and in turn preserve precious landfill space. The company, Hawaiian Earth Recycling LLC, will employ "in-vessel conversion" technology to process up to 80,000 tons of green waste, 10,000 tons of food waste and 20,000 tons of sewage sludge per year. The company will construct and operate the facility on private property in Wahiawa. Construction is expected to begin early next year, and take two years to complete.

PRESS RELEASE

Mayor Announces Launch of New Recycling Effort

Mayor Mufi Hannemann today announced that a new recycling effort will soon increase the amount of material that is reused rather than deposited in the city's landfill.

"We're firmly committed to using green solutions to address our waste disposal needs, and this new effort will bolster the steady progress we have already made," Hannemann said.

The initiative will combine recycling of green waste, such as yard trimmings, along with food waste and sewage sludge, using a process called "in-vessel conversion," creating a marketable soil amendment.

The city awarded this initiative to Hawaiian Earth Recycling LLC, which will construct a facility on private property on Wilikina Drive in Wahiawa. The company will build, operate and maintain the facility. Construction is expected to begin early next year, and be completed in 24 months.

The company will process approximately 100,000 tons of waste per year. This will include up to 80,000 tons of green waste, 10,000 tons of food waste, and 20,000 tons of sewage sludge.

The city currently diverts approximately 62 percent of its waste from the landfill by utilizing recycling and energy conversion opportunities. The new project will increase that rate to 67 percent, and it will increase to 85 percent when a third boiler under construction at the city's H-Power garbage-to-energy plant is completed in 2011.

For more information, contact:
Bill Brennan
Mayor's Office
(808) 768-6928

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin