Handling Oahu’s Waste Disposal Available to Purchase

Oahu has special needs and requirements when it comes to dealing with solid waste on the island. The City and County of Honolulu has successfully addressed this problem in the past and is working on solutions for the future. Five percent of the island’s electrical power has been generated reliably from the 2000 tons per day of waste processed by their H-POWER Waste-to-Energy Facility. The facility has been processing waste for nearly twenty years and the volume of refuse going to the landfill is reduced by 90 percent. Honolulu is considering the best solutions for the island’s waste for the coming years. Waste-to-energy works in partnership with recycling to reduce the island’s increasing waste volumes. Recycling programs are in place and additional recycling measures are being considered. Landfill space is limited and questions exist regarding the ongoing use of the existing landfill and what will happen when it is closed. In an island setting, some alternatives available to other areas such as long haul to distant landfills are not available to bridge solid waste issues. Therefore practical solutions must be found and implemented in a timely manner. A number of initiatives and plans are in development. Measures are underway to prepare the H-POWER facility for future emission requirements and operation for the next twenty years. Steps have been taken toward expansion of the existing facility. Permitting and negotiations with agencies and utilities are under way. This paper will explore and expand upon these issues showing how they are interrelated to one another.