Zero Waste Kauaʻi Testimony on the ISWMP Draft 4
Testimony on the Kauaʻi Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan Update Draft 4By JoAnn…
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ZWK Membership
Amendment Proposal to Exclude “Municipal Solid Waste” from Renewable Energy Sources in Hawaii Revised Statutes
Background : HRS §269-91 states “Renewable energy” means energy generated or produced…
Enhancing Plastic Container Labeling for Consumer Clarity and Recycling
Enhancing Plastic Container Labeling for Consumer Clarity and Recycling: A Proposal for…
JoAnn Yukimura
JoAnn Yukimura was mayor of Kauaʻi County from 1988-1994 and served on…
HI 5 Expansion Act
HI 5 Expansion Act: Inclusion of Aluminum Can-Packaged Wine in Mandatory Recycling…
Status of the MRF
The County has completed a conceptual design for a MRF, a budget…
Alanna Le Sueur
Bio
What is Zero Waste?
Zero Waste is more than an approach to waste management and recycling,…
Landfill Expansion Environmental Assessment
As the current Kekaha Landfill has a short remaining life span and…
Event Coordination
A major element of our project has been to promote waste reduction…
Projects and Programs
Zero Waste Resource GuideTo educate local decision makers of the potential Zero…
Zero Waste
Efforts to reduce solid waste generation waste to nothing, or as close…
Nancy Romaine
Bio
Disposable Plastics Policy Definitions
“County Facility” means any building, structure, or vehicle owned and operated by…
Waste-To-Energy Plants Stalled in Maui County While Landfills Approach Capacity (2020)
https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/local-news/2020-01-08/waste-to-energy-plants-stalled-in-maui-county-while-landfills-approach-capacity Nearly five years ago, Hawaii Public Radio reported a series of…
Jimmy Trujillo
Jimmy Trujillo has lived on Kaua’i since 1999 and is a resident…
ZWK Ohana
Ruta Jordans
Ruta Jordans has followed a zero waste way of living all her…
Jenn Sifuentes
Bio
Our Story
Zero Waste Kauai (ZWK) was founded in 2006 by Pat Gegen and John Harder (aka the Dump Doctor) in response to a proposal in the County’s Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan update (ISWM Plan) to include Waste to Energy (incineration) as an option in the County’s waste management strategy.
Our Intent
Our original intent was primarily education: to expand the public’s awareness of the potential of Zero Waste Management to more effectively manage our discards, rather than employ incineration as a primary strategy… and it worked!
Our Success
As of 2020, the island of Kauai successfully diverts approximately 43% of landfill-bound waste, primarily through HI-5 Recycling programs and Green Waste Management sites, as well as food waste diversion practices such as composting and large-scale events management in partnership with ZWK.