Big Island explores putting its waste to good use
Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - by Nanea Kalani Pacific Business News
A Big Island nonprofit wants to see the island become self-sustaining by reducing and reusing its trash.
The Hawaii Island Economic Development Board says the Big Island’s waste stream — about 500 tons of garbage a day — has potential to become a useful resource if it is recycled.
The concept will be the focus of a three-day Zero Waste Conference sponsored by the board next month.
“Zero waste is a philosophy that aims to guide people in the redesign of resource systems with the aim of reducing waste to, or close to, zero,” said Mark McGuffie, executive director of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board. “The conference offers an outlook for our island communities to explore the many opportunities in our waste stream.”
Speakers scheduled for the conference include university professors and sustainability experts from the Mainland who have created zero-waste plans for communities such as San Francisco and New York City. These plans aim to reduce waste sent to landfills by looking at waste management as resource management and promoting recycled products.
McGuffie said he expects conference attendees to help lay the foundation for designing a zero-waste plan for Hawaii.
“We’re never going to be able to eliminate our waste stream, but we can definitely figure out how we can get as close to zero as possible in closing that loop,” he said. “We need to be able to walk away with some steps on what to do as opposed to just talking. The conference will bring all the different stakeholders together who have an impact on the solid waste stream.”
McGuffie said the Zero Waste Conference ties in with recycling and garbage-recovery efforts the nonprofit has done over the past four years with grant money from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For example, last year the organization sponsored a conference with the theme Talking Trash, which informed Big Island residents and businesses of recycling opportunities in their county.
As a result, the economic development board joined another Big Island organization in opening a store earlier this year that salvages and sells construction materials from demolition sites.
“So far, we’ve diverted over 20 tons of materials that would probably be in the landfill,” McGuffie said. “So it’s off to a good start.”
The board expects about 200 attendees for the conference, which will run Sept. 11-13 at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows. The cost is $500 for the three days, including meals. About $60,000 in grant money from the EPA is being used to organize the conference.
As part of the conference, the organization plans to offer tours of Big Island businesses that are incorporating sustainable practices, including the Kahua Ranch, Hamakua Springs Country Farms and the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority.
nkalani@bizjournals.com | 955-8001
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