It’s been almost five years since the state Land Use Commission ordered the city to close Waimānalo Gulch Landfill, located in West Oʻahu, by 2028.
“It's not an issue to close it,” said Honolulu Department of Environmental Services Director Roger Babcock. “What is the challenge, of course, is to open a new landfill, which means you have to secure a site.”
The city was supposed to pick a new landfill location by the end of 2022. However, after passing that deadline, the Land Use Commission said the city now has until the end of this year to make a decision.
Where will it go?
The city faces the issue of complying with a state law that restricts where a landfill can be placed.
Act 73 says it cannot be in a state conservation district and it must be at least half a mile from any residence, school or hospital.
In addition, the city cannot place a landfill in the Board of Water Supply’s “no pass zone,” as it could threaten the island’s groundwater.
The city’s landfill advisory committee has also rejected all proposed sites for the landfill in 2022.
However, Babcock said the city is considering other options.
“We are looking at the things that essentially our landfill advisory committee recommended, which was to look at military land possibilities with respect to modifying or repealing Act 73, and then looking at eminent domain,” he said.
“Perhaps purchasing some properties that would maybe free up some space because of the residential restriction.”
When it comes to repealing or modifying Act 73, the West Oʻahu lawmakers who worked on the legislation in 2020 were generally against revisiting the subject.
“Nobody wants a landfill in their backyard at all,” said Sen. Kurt Favella. “I told them at the meeting I am not entertaining modifying nothing.”
Rep. Cedric Gates was also against changing Act 73.
“I feel that we can come up with innovative ways to replace the landfill,” Gates said. “I hope that's the direction we head instead of trying to repeal the legislation that we created through collaborations with our community.”
Both want to see the landfill closed to give west side residents relief from housing the city’s trash. West Oʻahu is also home to PVT landfill, which accepts the county’s industrial waste.
Babcock said that over the next four months, the city is not looking at locations that haven't already been proposed.
In the past, the city was considering six main sites. One in Kunia, another in Waipahu, three in Waialua, and one location between Haleʻiwa and Waialua. The Landfill Advisory Committee reluctantly ranked the Kunia location as the top choice in 2022.
The city also tried to get permission from the U.S. Navy to use Waipiʻo Soccer Complex as an alternative location. However, in April, the Navy notified the city that it would not support the development.
'Not gonna be an easy buildout'
Waimānalo Gulch accepts about 220,000 tons of waste a year. Most of it is ash and residue from H-POWER, the waste-to-energy incinerator.
Babcock explained that the lifespan of Waimānalo Gulch can vary.
In 2022, based on the amount of trash going into the landfill and the land available, the city estimated that there were 13 years of capacity left. But in 2023 that was reduced to nearly 8 years.
“That was because of some additional downtime of H-POWER. So that meant there was more refuse diverted last year than there had been in several years,” he said.
“So it's kind of a higher rate of material having to go to the landfill instead of getting burned at H-POWER.”
Babcock said H-POWER reduces the volume of trash in the landfill by 90%. So he expects the lifespan to increase next year with H-POWER up and running.
The city is also about three years away from completing another waste project that would recycle the ash from H-POWER into sand for asphalt. That would reduce the incinerator’s output by about 75%.
The city intends to comply with the commission's deadlines, including the 2028 closure.
Gates is giving Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who just won reelection, the benefit of the doubt.
“He gave us his word and we'll see what comes out when we get to 2028,” he said. “But we do have to move fast because it's not gonna be an easy buildout.”
