Compromise reached on Kona green waste plan
Kealakehe will stay open for drop off
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii -A plan to privatize county green waste collection and disposal was given the OK at a lengthy County Council meeting on Wednesday.
A bid process will determine which private company will get the five year contract to run the operation out of the Hilo and Puuanahulu landfills. The company will have the rights to use or sell the compost created from the green waste.
Community concern arose when the news of the planned privatization hit the press, especially from the west side of the island. Kailua-Kona residents like Cheryl King were worried that they would have to truck their green waste all the way to Puuanahulu if the much closer Kealakehe transfer station stopped taking the organic refuse.
Councilman Dominic Yagong proposed an amendment that would keep the Kealakehe site open for drop off. The amendment, and the resolution, passed unanimously.
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Dominic Yagong did indeed emerge as the champion for W. Hawaii residents concerned with the reduced services proposed for the Kealakehe site once this proposal is fully implemented. However, I would like to clarify the above account. I stayed to hear all the testimony and the council discussion which took place at 6 p.m. and have a written copy of the amendment that Dominic Yagong submitted to Resolution No. 312-10,
The first three “Whereas” clauses stated that “the Council recognizes that the Kealakehe facility services many residents of West Hawaii, recognizes the concerns expressed by W. Hawaii residents that approval of this multi-year contract may reduce or eliminate the current Kealakehe facility as a green waste drop off facility, and appreciates and sees the value of continued operation at the Kealakehe facility as it will compliment the Pu’uanahulu Greenwaste Collection Facility.
The fourth clause, as originally submitted by Dominic Yagong, stated: “Whereas, the Council would like to assure the public that the approval of this multi-year contract will not eliminate or severely reduce the hours of operation at the Kealakehe facility.”
Unfortunately, Lono Tyson swayed the council members to eliminate the part about not severely reducing the hours of operation by once again stating that the county might not have a budget which would let the council fulfill that promise.
So, as passed, the amendment simply states that Kealakehe won’t be closed for Greenwaste drop off. We knew that. Lono Tyson and Mr. Dworskey of Solid Waste Management had already commented that it wouldn’t be closed and that we might be able to drop off green waste “once every two weeks”, at a miniumum. All we have achieved is a document that might be used to remind the county that they promised not to completely close Kealakehe.
On another note, in my testimony, I tried to point out that this issue affects the whole island, not just Kona residents who take green waste to Kealakehe. The goal of Environmental management is to eliminate green waste from the landfills and to get out of the greenwaste business. It is not just the Kealakehe site that will have sharply reduced services –it is all of them–with the probable exception of Hilo.
When I queried Mr.. Dworskey, the head of Solid Waste Management about this, he told me that he “anticipates having green waste drop off at transfer stations on a “regular” basis. We don’t know what that means and neither do they. It “all depends on the funding”. Catch 22!
It would be helpful to post the video of the green waste testimony and discussion so that readers/viewers know exactly what happened. And, please change the heading “Kealakehe will stay open for drop-off”. It is misleading.
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