Testimony on the Kauaʻi Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan Update Draft 4
By JoAnn A. Yukimura, on behalf of Zero Waste Kauaʻi
June 17, 2021
Dear Chair Kaneshiro and Councilmembers:
My name is JoAnn Yukimura. It is my privilege to speak on behalf of Zero Waste Kauaʻi.
Zero Waste Kauaʻi would like to thank the County Administration, in particular, Allison Fraley and Keola Aki of the County Solid Waste Division; the Jacobs
team, headed by Lindsay Lopez; and the ISWMP Advisory Committee for the hard work that is being done to update Kauaʻi Countyʻs Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan (ISWMP). The draft plan, referred to in this testimony either as the “Draft Plan” or the “ISWMP Draft,” contains a lot of good information and ideas, reflecting the breadth and complexity of the Countyʻs solid waste challenges and opportunities.
What appears to be missing is a set of clear goals and prioritized strategies for meeting those goals in the next ten years. Without such, there is nothing to aim for, nor anything by which to measure progress.
We suggest that the goal set by the County Council in 2011 be updated and used as the main goal in the Draft Plan. In 2011, the County Council set forth a goal of achieving a 70% diversion rate by 2023. Ten years later we are at 43%, but some cities, like San Francisco, have achieved an 80% diversion rate because they had a bold goal and an effective strategy for achieving it. We suggest that an 80% diversion rate by 2030 would be an appropriate goal for Kauaʻi’s ISWMP.
When we teach our children, we encourage them to dream big and reach for the stars. Thatʻs what President Kennedy did when he challenged the country in 1982 to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, which was achieved. Bold goals can inspire and generate political will–as well as the actions required to reach them.
Even more compelling is the existential threat of the Climate Crisis. Its urgency was highlighted last month by the Hawaiʻi State Legislature’s declaration of a Climate Emergency. The speaker at the Kauaʻi Climate Action Forum last week, Dr. Thomas Oliver, an expert on coral reefs, was more explicit. He said we have ten years to turn things around.
Setting such a goal would align the ISWMP with the Countyʻs General Plan. It is our understanding that the Countyʻs planning process requires that functional plans like the ISWMP follow the General Plan.
The General Planʻs No.1 goal is for Kauaʻi to become a sustainable island. The ISWMP, therefore, needs to map out the way for the Countyʻs management of solid waste to become sustainable.
Diverting materials from the landfill by recycling, composting, and the reuse of construction and demolition materials should be clearly stated as
the priorities of the plan. This will turn the linear process of
into a circular and more sustainable process of
Based on the Countyʻs 2017 Waste Characterization Study, there are three main categories of trash that could be diverted:
Recyclables (36% of landfill waste: glass, paper, plastics, and metals) could be diverted with Curbside Recycling and a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)
Food and other organics (28% of the landfill composition) could be diverted with curbside pick-up of green waste and food and an expansion of community composting capacity; and
Construction and Demolition waste (24% of landfill composition) will require strategies for reuse and recycling.
Successful diversion in these three areas will enable Kauaʻi County to meet its 80% diversion goal by 2030.
Curbside Recycling is the low hanging fruit. Most of the preliminary work on the MRF has been completed. All that is needed is $450,000 for construction design, which can be found in next year’s budget, assuming curbside recycling is a priority; $12 million for construction, which can be borrowed from the State Revolving Fund or included in a bond float; $818,000 to cover the net annual operating costs (which include annual capital payments). Payment of the annual net operating cost of curbside recycling can be covered by the General Fund subsidy that will be freed up by incrementally increasing the fee for trash pick-up to close the present deficit in covering trash pick-up with user fees.
Community Composting capacity can be cultivated by establishing incremental bans on residential and small commercial green waste and food waste, just as was successfully done several years ago, by prohibiting commercial dumping of cardboard and green waste at the landfill. This will give the private sector time to build their capacity and the County time to develop curbside green waste and food pick-up, once curbside recycling is established.
Reuse of Construction and Demolition Waste is already happening. It needs to be expanded through gradual bans on construction and demolition waste, which will encourage the private sector to build its capacity to receive and reuse construction and demolition waste. The County should also require
deconstruction plans as a condition of demolition permits.
Need for Personnel must be recognized and provided for. Without sufficient qualified personnel, projects will not get done–or, they will be poorly executed because the staff will be spread too thin. Success of the diversion efforts and public education programs will depend largely on whether there is adequate staff to do the job. The crucial need for staff and its importance to the successful implementation of the plan should be discussed in the plan and included in the recommendations of the plan, along with a recommended budget.
In summary, Zero Waste Kauaʻi asks that the following be done to improve the ISWMP Draft:
- Establish an 80% diversion rate by 2030.as the goal of the ISWMP
- Identify the following main priorities for next 10 years as the means for achieving an 80% diversion:
- The establishment of curbside recycling along with the building of a MRF;
- The expansion of community composting capacity and establishment of incremental bans of residential and small commercial green waste and food waste;
- Diversion of construction and demolition waste from the landfill;
- Approval and funding of increased staffing to work on diversion. (additional landfill workers do not count in this context)
- Address the Kauaʻi General Plan goal of becoming a sustainable island (we may have missed the reference, but we saw no mention of the General Plan mandate in the ISWMP Draft) and show how the ISWMP will move Kauaʻi toward sustainability.
- Please include a discussion of the Sustainable
Materials Management (SSM) approach advocated by EPA which provides a philosophy and strategy for developing a sustainable ISWMP.
Thank you.