LIHU‘E — Funding has already been set aside for curbside recycling to begin next year, Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. told community members at last week’s Apollo Kaua‘i meeting. But attendees pressed him on why the county has not proceeded
LIHU‘E — Funding has already been set aside for curbside recycling to begin next year, Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. told community members at last week’s Apollo Kaua‘i meeting.
But attendees pressed him on why the county has not proceeded with a materials recovery facility, or MRF, which would allow recycling to occur on-island and why the position of a coordinator to manage recycling efforts has been frozen.
“I know there are different issues and concerns about what should come before the other one, but I just thought we need to keep moving and make things happen,” Carvalho said.
One person asked the mayor about the possibility of a recycling coordinator so “we really can get a MRF.”
“I would love to do that, but, right now, we’re in a situation where structurally and financially we’re not able to bring that position aboard,” Carvalho said. “We never said ‘no’ but this is the time right now that we really need to work together and depend on each other to get what we need to get done. I believe we’re moving in the right direction as best we can and that’s where we are as far as the position is concerned.”
Former County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura suggested there could be money for a recycling coordinator if curbside recycling was “deferred.” She said the management position would be able to set the course and pave the way for efficient island recycling.
She asked the mayor why the “priority choice” was made by his administration.
“We felt like curbside recycling was a big part of what we needed to move on now … we felt that that was a priority for us to make things happen now,”
Carvalho said.
The project is slated to start with service to roughly 2,000 homes in Lihu‘e.
“I made a commitment to follow through and make that happen,” he said.
Yukimura explained that approximately $150,000 to $300,000 would be required to implement the endeavor for one year with an additional $300,000 “because you have to pay for shipping off island.”
With a MRF, curbside recycling is supported into the future where recyclable material is recovered on-island, she said.
“We are moving in that direction right now and, as we move forward, we’ll add on the next steps to the MRF,” Carvalho said. “We never said we would never do a MRF, it’s in there as we speak … but I wanted to get curbside recycling, which we talked about for years, moving. It’s about starting it, educating people, having to feel it, touch it, know it.”
An expert in solid waste management, John Harder of Zero Waste Kaua‘i said he did not think an adequate recycling program could be run without some sort of management.
“Especially with the routing and education you talk about as far as curbside recycling is concerned,” said Harder, also known as the “Dump Doctor,” Thursday night.
Having run a number of solid waste programs across the state, Harder said with the county’s proposed millions of dollars in expenditures to expand the Kekaha Landfill, a management position would pale in price comparison and would essentially conserve landfill capacity and save money and space in the long run.
“I understand that there are economic issues and across-the-board position freezes, but in this one specific case, I just kind of feel that you’re shorting the system because your curbside program will not work as efficiently as it should,” he told the mayor. “Your landfill is going to fill up faster and it’s going to cost you more money than you think you’re saving.”
Another concerned community member asked Carvalho if there were any stimulus monies set aside for hiring a coordinator and creating a MRF.
“There are so many tracks and streams of funding and I’m sure whatever track we go, there may be,” Carvalho said. “But as far as we know, there is nothing there specifically for what you’re asking.”
He added that options could arise down the road, as some states may not use all of their funding or meet proper requirements for receiving it.
“If we’re ready, then we might have more opportunities,” he said.
Another environmentally concerned resident and energy expert, Ben Sullivan, echoed the earlier concerns about not hiring someone to manage recycling endeavors on the island.
“For me, my concern is not that you made a choice about which sequence to put things in, because that’s your role play in the county government,” he said, adding he respects the mayor’s decision to go through with curbside recycling.
Instead, Sullivan agreed with others in that he felt it was important to understand that without a MRF the program might not run as smoothly as it could and that if curbside recycling initially failed to succeed, it wouldn’t simply be abandoned all together.
The bottom line, Carvalho said, is to do the “low hanging fruit” first, but also keep looking “at the bigger picture.”
• Coco Zickos, business and environmental writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or czickos@kauaipubco.com
