John is a Berkeley dropout who came to Kaua‘i in 1969 and worked construction, doing everything from carpentry and surveying to planning and project management. In the late 70’s he became involved in designing and installing alternative energy systems.
In the 80’s, he finally found his true calling, Solid Waste Management, and became Kauai County’s first Solid Waste Coordinator.
In 1991 he was chosen to head the Office of Solid Waste Management in Honolulu. While bringing the State’s regulatory program into compliance with EPA requirements, he became a leader in promoting recycling and composting projects statewide.
In 1999 he moved to Saipan to take on the challenge of cleaning up one of the worst dumps in the Western Pacific, and in 2001 returned to Hawaii to take over Solid Waste operations for Maui County.
Returning to Kauai in 2006 he helped found Zero Waste Kauai, a local non-profit advocating sustainable Solid Waste Management practices
John probably knows more about Solid Waste Management than most people care to think about, and Composting is his favorite subject!
Since moving to Hawaii in 1969, Mr. Harder has been involved in various aspects of program development, environmental management, engineering and construction management. His experience has spanned the full range of the construction industry from project planning and design, through construction management and supervision. During the late 1980’s he became increasingly involved in project coordination and management; with responsibilities ranging from the day to day administration of facilities maintenance for Princeville Corporation (a 1000 acre resort development in Hanalei) to the coordination of planning, design and construction activities for a wide range of capital improvement projects.
In 1989, Mr. Harder was hired by the Department of Public Works, County of Kauai to start up their solid waste management program. He successfully completed the construction of a new refuse transfer station and initiated the closure of the existing substandard landfill, while implementing the state’s first publicly supported recycling and composting projects.
In 1991 he was selected by the Hawaii State Department of Health to head the newly established Office of Solid Waste Management. He became a leader in promoting recycling and composting projects statewide while bringing the State’s regulatory program into compliance with EPA requirements. The program’s first task was to oversee the upgrading of Hawaii’s landfills to full “Subtitle D” status, developing innovate locally applicable solutions to the prescriptive federal rules.
A major accomplishment of the solid waste program under his leadership was its ability to work with the various counties in insuring that their landfills were upgraded to meet Federal standards. His oversight of the development of the program from its infancy to an effective regulatory and outreach office received recognition from the Environmental Protection Agency, state legislators, county solid waste management programs and the private sector waste management community.
From January 1999 through October 2001, Mr. Harder managed the newly established Division of Solid Waste Management for the Department of Public Works of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas. During that time he was successful in significantly upgrading the operations at the existing landfill (Puerto Rico Dump), and implemented a number of pilot recycling activities. His primary task was to oversee the design and construction of a fully integrated solid waste management system which when completed included a new landfill, a refuse transfer station and a recycling center. The Saipan project received national recognition from EPA and SWANA.
In November 2001 Mr. Harder was selected to head the Solid Waste Division for the County of Maui. During that time he oversaw the successful implementation of the first phase of the automation of residential refuse collection and is currently implementing the opening of a new, lined landfill for Central Maui. In addition, he significantly upgraded operations at the County’s 4 existing landfills.
Returning to Kauai in 2006 he helped found Zero Waste Kauai, a local non-profit advocating sustainable Solid Waste Management practices. In 2009 John’s dedication to the environment was recognized by the Rotary Club of Kapaa with their annual Green Giant Award. After retiring in 2008 he became more involved in Zero Waste Management and worked part time for the County of Kauai to implement the development of an aggressive diversion strategy.
While he has focused primarily on solid waste issues over the last 3 decades, he has retained his interest in the wider range of construction activities and environmental issues. His approach has been to focus on innovative, but economically sound alternatives which are technically appropriate for the community. Overall, Mr. Harder considers himself to be a strong environmentalist, who looks for pragmatic, straightforward solutions to often complex problems.
