The City and County of Honolulu is waiting for the governor to decide whether he will let a state bill take effect that would further narrow site options for a new Oʻahu landfill.
If the law goes into effect, the city says it will likely extend its operations at Waimanalo Gulch in West Oʻahu, which was ordered to close by 2028.
The city originally chose a site located near Wahiawā to replace the landfill. However, the state Legislature bill would ban landfills on Oʻahu from being sited on agricultural land and above a drinking water source. The Wahiawā location is on both.
Councilmember Andria Tupola, who represents West Oʻahu, urged Department of Environmental Services Director Roger Babcock to find ways to divert more waste out of the landfill.
"The only three things that are going into the landfill is ASR, sludge and ash. So the way that we solve this problem is that we don't site a new landfill, we figure out what to do with the three things," Tupola said.
"ASR actually can go to H-POWER. So some years ago, they were told that they had to bring it to the Waimanalo Gulch because it was making the incinerator too hot and whatnot. Why can't 24,000 tons of ASR go to H-POWER instead of the landfill? So that we're getting low-hanging fruit out of the way, and pretty soon we have nothing left to put in the landfill."
ASR is automotive shredder residue, which comes from vehicles and other major household appliances.
Most of Oahu’s waste goes to H-POWER, the waste-to-energy incinerator.
Babcock told councilmembers that the department is in talks with H-Power’s operator, Reworld, about accepting ASR to further reduce the amount of trash going into the landfill.
