As part of the update of the island’s solid-waste-management plan, County of Kaua’i Department of Public Works leaders are holding a series of public meetings to gather information from residents, according to a press release. “Before we draft a new,
As part of the update of the island’s solid-waste-management plan, County of Kaua’i Department of Public Works leaders are holding a series of public meetings to gather information from residents, according to a press release.
“Before we draft a new, integrated, solid-waste-management plan, we want to hear from the public about what works, what doesn’t, and how our communities see the future for handling trash and other solid waste,” said Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste.
The public meetings will each be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the first at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center on Jan. 24, with a meeting at the Hanapepe Hawaii Army National Guard armory on Jan. 25, and at the Kaua’i War Memorial Convention Hall in Lihu’e on Jan. 26.
The county’s DPW Solid Waste Division leaders have contracted officials with R.W. Beck, Inc., a national engineering and management consulting firm, to develop the new plan.
R.W. Beck officials have extensive solid-waste-management-planning experience, and are part of the largest recycling consultancy in the nation.
The firm’s employees have done work for leaders of Kaua’i County, Maui County, and the City & County of Honolulu.
Integrated-solid-waste-management plans are blueprints for managing solid waste through a combination of technologies that best fit the community.
Kaua’i’s current solid-waste-management plan is 11 years old, so the new plan will include consideration of feasibility of newer technologies.
“Our aim is to provide a concise strategy for a modern, environmentally-sound and cost-effective, solid-waste system, with adequate disposal capacity for island residents and visitors,” said Robert Craggs, R.W. Beck’s vice president and national director of solid waste practice.
To help craft the new, integrated, solid-waste-management plan, a solid-waste advisory committee is being formed, and following the public-input meetings, a full assessment will be made of Kaua’i’s waste stream.
The assessment will determine the different components of the waste stream, such as green waste, paper, construction debris, metals, etc., and the volume of each.
“After we know the makeup of the waste stream,” said Troy Tanigawa, Kaua’i’s solid-waste administrator, “we will first identify technologies to achieve volume reduction, and then determine how to best manage the remainder.
“We will also evaluate related costs to implement our new solid-waste-management system, and develop feasible options to support such costs,” Tanigawa continued.
“This is an extremely important project, because it could fix direction for solid-waste management on Kaua’i for several decades.”
For more information about Kaua’i solid-waste programs, visit www.kauai.gov/public-works/solidwaste, or call 241-6880.
