LIHU’E — A question facing Kaua’i County Council members is whether, in this election year, they are willing to commit to multi-million-dollar funding over several years for an island solid-waste solution. But the most pressing issue facing the island is
LIHU’E — A question facing Kaua’i County Council members is whether, in this
election year, they are willing to commit to multi-million-dollar funding over
several years for an island solid-waste solution.
But the most pressing
issue facing the island is making long-term decisions regarding the handling of
garbage, according to Jean Camp, Mayor Maryanne Kusaka’s executive assistant
for solid-waste matters.
Will the county, Camp wonders, continue its
landfill-only policy, or opt for a combination of landfill and some sort of
plant to burn or otherwise handle the trash?
This Wednesday, she’ll ask the
council to consider the combination landfill-plant solution, as that will meet
state-advised goals for diverting trash from the landfill, and potentially make
the dump being proposed now the last one the island will ever need.
Today,
there are seven potential sites for landfills, from Kealia to Kekaha. In 30
years, there may be no suitable sites, Camp said.
Troy Tanigawa, the county
Department of Public Works solid-waste coordinator, agrees with Camp that the
plant and landfill combination is the only real way to reduce the landfill
deposits of the hundreds of tons of trash the island generates daily.
The
plant idea is a concept being embraced globally, will help the county reach
landfill diversion goals (the island was supposed to be diverting 50 percent of
all trash away from the landfill by this year, by state goals, but isn’t even
at 20 percent), and meshes with goals established in the six-year-old Kaua’i
solid waste management plan, Tanigawa said.
The state is updating its
garbage management plan, and the island should update its document using
recommendations included in the updated state plan, Camp said.
On
Wednesday, Camp will also ask the council to back a 20-year commitment for
funding.
Some council members, notably Randal Valenciano, at an earlier
meeting seemed reluctant to tie future councils to the funding
requirements.
But Camp contends that is exactly what is needed for the
county to make a long-term funding commitment to an alternative to landfills.
The administration may shortly propose a full-on division of solid waste in
Public Works, to show that the county is serious about managing its solid-waste
tasks, she said.
Time is of the essence in terms of decision-making, Camp
and others feel, as the end of the useful life of the island’s only landfill,
at Kekaha, is estimated to be between four and six years. A new garbage
handling plant and new landfill will take about five years to bring on
line.
For the remainder of this year, “micro issues,” as Camp calls them,
include:
* Getting the new landfill sited, getting the Puhi Metals
Recycling Facility opened with a private contractor operating it (bids are
expected back by the end of this month, with an operator selected by
October).
* Establishing a county disaster waste management plan (Kaua’i is
working with other counties to come up with temporary waste storage areas and
other facets of that plan, as funded and mandated by federal agencies).
And hiring a county recycling coordinator to open and operate the resource
center near Lihu’e Airport.
Staff writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached
at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net
