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Gordon Ho

Mr. Smith

English 11 Section G

14 April 2020

Burned and Buried: Hawaii’s Waste Management System

When tourists think of Hawaii, most of them would instantly think of the nice warm

weather, beautiful beaches, and the breath-taking views that it has to offer. They all have a great

time walking around Waikiki, Ala Moana, and other places. They eat their açai bowls KCC

Farmer's market, pineapple ice cream from Dole Plantation, and Hawaiian food from all over the

island, but what happens to all that trash they throw away. Oahu alone produces more than 2.2

million tons of waste every year, from all sources on the island. Hawaii’s trash gets incinerated

at the H-POWER plant, where it produces almost 10% of Hawaii’s electricity. After all that

burning though, H-POWER creates a lot of ashes that get sent to the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary

Landfill in Kapolei. The issue here now is that this landfill will fill up eventually, it’s estimated

that this landfill would have enough space for H-POWER’s ashes for the next thirty years.

Thirty years is not a lot of time, especially since there is no real solid plan to deal with this issue.

Most of Hawaii’s economy is based on tourism and if the island gets filled with landfills, no one

is going to want to come to this tiny tropical garbage dump.

Hawaii has a good system right now for its waste and recyclables but needs to do better,

in terms of reducing and processing waste so that it can be sustainable. New methods of

processing waste would help Hawaii be more self-sufficient and sustainable. Creating different

processing plants, such as an anaerobic digester to break down organic things, would be a great
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start. They could also ban most single-use plastics and replace them with biodegradable plastics.

Hawaii could also repurpose old materials into construction materials to reduce the need to throw

the old stuff away.

To make Hawaii more sustainable, an analysis of its current waste management system

has to be done. According to opala.org, Oahu’s state website for waste management, Oahu

generates more than 2.2 million tons of waste a year from residents, businesses, and industrial

sources. Over 700,000 tons of that waste is fed into the city’s H-POWER facility, which stands

for the Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Recovery. This facility takes refuse and incinerates

it to produce up to 10% of Oahu’s energy supply. This system is great because it reduces the

need for landfills significantly, according to their website, 90% of the waste in volume is

reduced. Leaving only 10% of the volume to go to landfills in the form of ashes. It also

produced electricity for Oahu which helps reduce the need for fossil fuels for energy. This is

where the system shows its flaws though, the ashes that are produced are sent to the Waimanalo

Gulch Sanitary Landfill. According to the Civil Beat’s interview in 2020, with Tina Alder, the

district manager, the landfill in Waimanalo is said to continue excepting H-POWER ash for the

next thirty years. Thirty years is not a lot of time when you look at the big picture because after

that time is up, there is going to be a need for another landfill for the ashes if there even is space

left on Oahu. This cycle will probably keep continuing until there is a better way of dealing with

the ashes. All the other waste that Oahu produces is from construction and debris which gets

sent to the PVT landfill, which can process at a maximum of 1,775 tons of debris every day.

PVT then goes on to recycle as much of the waste as possible, turning wood, plastic, cloth,

paper, and other materials into feedstocks for incineration for energy or gasification plants where

those materials would be turned into synthetic gas for fuel. According to PVT’s website, “a
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gasification facility is planned by Honua Power LLC for Campbell Industrial Park within the

next two years.” All metals collected at the landfill are sorted out and recycled. According to

their statistics, PVT recycles 42 tons of metals daily, which includes copper, aluminum, and

other ferrous metals. They also recycle 840 tons of concrete daily, which is crushed and reused in

the making of roads. This facility is great because 80% of the debris they process is either turned

into feedstock or is recycled. Only about 20% of what they receive ends up in a landfill. All the

metal they collect, are sent to Schnitzer Steel which is a big company known for their metal

recycling. This makes PVT’s system reliable and trustworthy because citizens would know that

the metal will be processed and recycled in the states, not like some other plastic recyclers that

send their scrap plastic to Asia. In addition to this, the PVT landfill is privately owned and

operated, so the taxpayers don’t have to worry about funding this. After this analysis, I’ve

realized that Hawaii’s system is great but not sustainable for the long haul because of limitations

due to land size.

Growing up I was taught the three R’s, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, those simple words

taught me what to do with my trash. What we didn’t learn in school, was what happened to them

after. Hawaii’s current system, which was explored previously, does practice recycling. Most of

Hawaii’s waste is sent to H-POWER where it is incinerated, but before incineration, a magnet is

used to pull metals from the waste stream, according to Opala. After the burning, they use an

eddy current to separate non-ferrous metals, metals that don’t contain iron, from the ashes. Eddy

currents simply create an electric magnetic field that pushes non-ferrous metals away from it.

According to Opala, approximately 20,000 tons of ferrous metal and 2,500 tons of non-ferrous

metals are recycled annually. Hawaii also works with local businesses to help with their

recycling efforts like RRR Recycling Services, Reynolds Recycling, and Island Recycling, just
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to name a few. In 2018, all of Hawaii recycled about 1,300,528 tons of material, ranging from

paper products to car parts. The most recycled things were construction & demolition, which is

no surprise since it’s the heaviest material recycled with 868,617 tons, then ferrous metals with

134,988 tons, and green waste at 111,907 tons. Even though there are companies, like Hawaiian

Earth Recycling, that takes green waste and make compost from them, there is still a drastic

amount of food and green waste that gets incinerated. Which is a waste of resources since there

could be a significant amount of compost made from the waste that would be incinerated. The

current waste collation system currently has three bins for three things, general waste, green

waste, and recyclables. I propose they add another bin, one for food waste. This would help

boost the amount of waste being recycled because there would be less processing needed to be

done, which allows less waste to be incinerated, leaving less ash to put into the ground. Hawaii

is also notorious for its many potholes on the roads, which needs constant maintenance because

potholes can cause damage to cars. In Great Britain, there is a company called MacRebur,

created by Toby McCartney, that takes recycled plastic pellets and mixes it into the asphalt,

making it stronger and last longer. Hawaii should investigate this to enhance repairs to our roads

and reuse the plastic that would otherwise just be incinerated.

According to Mike Biddle, in his 2011 Ted Talk, he said: “plastics are several times more

valuable than steel.” Mike Biddle is the founder of MBA Polymers, a company that can process

over 300 million pounds of plastic per year in China and Europe. Even though plastics have

such a high value, an estimated 78,137 tons of plastic, of all types, gets sent to landfills or H-

POWER, in Hawaii, according to a survey done by Cascadia Consulting Group. Cascadia was

contracted by the City and County of Honolulu in 2017, to conduct a survey for municipal waste

disposed of at H-POWER and the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill. All of these plastics end up buried
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in the landfill in the form of ashes or straight up plastic. In early 2018, China has stopped taking

waste from the US to be sorted, processed, and recycled. Now that China is out of the picture,

most American cities have resorted to either incinerating or putting their plastics in landfills,

according to Alana Semeuls, a reporter at The Atlantic. “These municipalities have two choices:

pay much higher rates to get rid of recycling, or throw it all away. Most are choosing the latter”

said Alana in 2019. Cities on the mainland can resort to this option because they have space, but

in Hawaii, the land is very limited and what we do with it will affect our future drastically. In

addition to this, even if Hawaii could recycle 100% of its plastics, according to Roland Geyer, a

professor at the University of Santa Barbra, in an interview by Amna Nawaz for PBS, “Even

recycled material, you can’t cycle forever. Eventually, you’ll have to dispose of it. So, the only

way to reduce disposal is to make less plastic.” This means that plastics are really difficult to

dispose of and the only way to get rid of the plastic problem is not to use it. The Seattle

Mariners Stadium requires its vendors to only serve food with compostable items. “In 2017 the

park manages to recycle or compost 96% of all waste.” Said Amna. Hawaii could mimic this

rule and apply it to all restaurants and places that serve food. An even bigger example of this is

when Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada announced that “As early as 2021, Canada

will ban harmful single-use plastics from coast to coast to coast, it will be up to businesses to

take responsibility for the plastics their manufacturing and putting out into the world.” If a

whole country could do this, perhaps Hawaii as a state could have a chance at it. In fact, there is

already a bill being processed, bill number 2391 in the Hawaii State Legislature. This bill aims

to do exactly what the Seattle Mariners Stadium requires its vendors to do. Serve their food with

biodegradable and compostable items. This is a major first step to help save Hawaii from being

a massive tropical garbage dump.

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According to the study previously mentioned, an estimated 46,722 tons of pallets were

sent to be discarded in 2017. For my solutionary project, my idea is to collect some of the pallets

and make furniture out of it for homeless shelters. Changing Hawaii’s waste management

system is not a task a junior in high school can do, but what I can do is help eliminate some of

the waste going into the system. Even though building chairs and tables will not be a significant

change, it will at least help those in the shelters. Homeless shelters have a limited amount of

resources and use it for feeding their occupants and other major necessities, so their furniture is

usually limited and not a priority. These furnishings would greatly help our local organizations

with accommodating their guests. My father has previously built a coffee table from pallets, so

with his help, we could build some chairs and a table. The plan is to go to COSCO AC &

Refrigeration for the pallets because they throw away some good quality pallets. Bring them to

my home where my father and I will disassemble the pallets one by one. Then every weekend,

spend a couple of hours working on it. My father already has the additional supplies and tools

needed for this job. After a set is completed, we would go to a shelter and donate it. Even

though this solution doesn’t solve the root of our waste disposal system, it is a great way to

reduce waste and give back to the community.

Hawaii creates a lot of trash but doesn’t have enough space to hold it all. Our current

system simply burns the waste and sends the ashes to a landfill; however, it does create some

energy through the incineration. The fact remains that the system is not sustainable in the long

term. Our trash is either incinerated for electricity or added to landfills, even though the

incineration was meant to compact the trash by reducing the mass, it’s not enough. Companies

like PVT Landfill and Reynolds Recycling are a great example of companies that process our

recyclables but needs to work on making sure more recyclables get recycled instead of being
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incinerated. Above all, reducing waste is the simplest way to fix our problem of where to put our

trash because if there is no trash to begin with, then there’s no trash to deal with. To fix this

problem, our state needs to invest more time and money into our waste disposal system so that

we can be sustainable for generations to come. As consumers in this plastic-filled world, we

can’t give up the plastics we take for granted like water bottles and food wrappers easily.

However, we can do our part by making sure we clean out our containers before putting it into

the recycling bin. So that the system has an easier time processing it. We can also try our best to

buy in bulk to reduce the need for packaging and buy at places that encourage bringing our

reusable bags like Whole Foods. Creating a cleaner Hawaii now will keep this tropical island

beautiful for generations to come.

Research Essay Rubric

Name: ________________________________

Criteria / Standard 1 2 3 4 Score Feedback

IDEA DEVELOPMENT

 Text is focused; captures the reader’s attention.

x
 Topic is narrow and manageable.
 Details are relevant, interesting, vivid, accurate.
 Point is clear.
 Details support the paper’s main idea.
 Ideas engage, inspire, or intrigue reader.

ORGANIZATION x
 The order compels, enhances, and moves ideas.
 Introduction intrigues, invites; conclusion
resolves.
 Thoughtful transitions show how ideas connect.
 Sequencing is logical and effective.
 Pacing is well controlled and purposeful.
 Organization flows smoothly; matches purpose.

VOICE x Be formal, mature and

 Writing is compelling, engaging; aware of the
use elevated language,
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audience.
 Tone is interesting and appropriate for audience
but speak passionately
and the purpose. and with personality.
 Author’s presence is evident, powerful.
 Expository writing is committed, persuasive.
 Narrative writing is honest, engaging, personal.

WORD CHOICE x
 Words are precise, interesting, powerful.
 Words are specific; meaning is clear.
 Words and phrases are striking.
 Language is effective and appropriate.
 Verbs are lively, nouns precise, modifiers
effective.
 Choices enhance meaning and clarify meaning.

SENTENCE FLUENCY x Do your best to vary your

 The writing flows with rhythm and elegance.
sentences in length and
 Sentences are constructed to enhance structure.
meaning.
 Sentences vary in length and structure.
 Sentences use purposeful, varied beginnings.
 Writing has cadence.

CONVENTIONS x
 Observes and uses standard conventions; few
errors.
 Spelling is mostly correct.
 Punctuation is accurate and effective.
 Capitalization skills are evident.
 Grammar and usage are correct and enhance
the text.
 Paragraphing is sound; reinforces organization.
 Writer may manipulate conventions for style.

96
Total Score
1 = standard not met; 2 = standard partially met; 3 = standard met; 4 = exceeds expectations

CLASS NOTES. WHOLE CLASS FEEDBACK.

1. Thesis and points need to be clear and concise

2. Tone needs to be right

3. When you introduce your evidence, give more context

4. Fix errors on grammerly