map of traffic pattern provided by the County of Hawaiʻi

(BIVN) – A new traffic pattern for refuse disposal is among various changes coming to the Hilo Recycling and Transfer Station.

The County of Hawai‘i, Department of Environmental Management, Solid Waste Division announced last week that the Hilo Transfer Station will be implementing a new residential traffic pattern for refuse disposal. This change is being made to allow for an improved traffic flow within the facility, officials say.

It was also announced this month that the East Hawaiʻi Regional Sort Station will start accepting construction and demolition debris for disposal, with the following conditions:

• A maximum of 5 cubic yards per load will be accepted (a 5 cubic yard load will fit in a standard size pickup truck with an 8-foot long bed filled to the top of the cab).
• No item shall exceed 4 feet in any dimension or weigh more than 50 pounds.
• No rocks, concrete, or grading and grubbing materials will be accepted.

From the Department of Environmental Management:

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste and/or grading and grubbing (G&G) materials are accepted at the West Hawaiʻi Sanitary Landfill located at 71-1111 Queen Kaʻahumanu Highway six days per week (Monday through Saturday) from 7:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. If you are disposing of more than 50 cubic yards of C&D and/or G&G waste per day, please notify the West Hawaiʻi scalehouse (886-8059) at least 24 hours prior to disposing for scheduling.

It was previously announced that the East Hawai‘i Regional Sort Station services are closed to businesses hauling commercially generated wastes larger than five (5) cubic yards to November 30, 2020.

Planning is underway for more change at the transfer station. A glimpse of the future can be found in the Environmental Assessment for the closure and remediation of the Hilo Scrap Metal Yard, which is summarized:

The County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management is planning to permanently close and remediate the site of the former Hilo Scrap Metal Yard located in Hilo on Hawaiʻi Island. The proposed action consists of excavating and disposing of all waste materials and all lead contaminated soils in the project area…. Once the site has been remediated, DEM plans to use the site in the future for consolidation of existing solid waste management program components in the area.

All County of Hawai‘i Solid Waste Division Recycling & Transfer Stations, Landfills and Sort Stations will be closed for the following Holidays:

• Thanksgiving Day – November 26, 2020 – Thursday
• Christmas Day – December 25, 2020 – Friday
• New Year’s Day – January 1, 2021 – Friday

The County of Hawai‘i says its 22 recycling & transfer stations throughout the Big Island will be closed on those three holidays.

“We respectfully ask for your kōkua and please don’t litter or illegally dump any materials at the closed transfer stations,” the Department of Environmental Management said. “Have a safe and happy holiday.”