SB1701

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii faces a solid waste crisis. Landfill siting on all islands is a contentious issue, and the solid waste permit for Oahu’s main landfill, Waimanalo gulch, will expire by May 2008.

Hawaii lags behind many other states in its commitment to recycling, with less than one-third of its municipal waste being recycled. Over ten thousand cities across the mainland have a curbside recycling program. Honolulu is the largest city in the country without a curbside recycling program. Further, Oahu residents generate an average of over six pounds of trash per person daily. This amount is forty-one per cent greater than the national average of over four pounds per person and two hundred ten per cent greater than the average German resident who generates less than two pounds daily.

Tens of thousands of tons of recyclable material will be trashed annually without convenient curbside recycling, wasting natural resources, energy, and landfill space. A curbside recycling program that allows residents to recycle bottles, cans, food jars, cardboard, newsprint, and other recyclables at their own curb would vastly increase Hawaii’s real recycling rate.

It is estimated that a well-run curbside recycling program in Honolulu could capture over forty thousand tons of recyclables annually. This figure is based on capture rates of curbside recycling programs in cities of comparable size, such as the city of Portland, Oregon, with approximately two hundred thousand households, whose curbside program diverted over forty-eight thousand tons of recyclables, or inorganics, in 2000. The city of San Diego, California, with two hundred seventy-six thousand households, recycled seventy-two thousand tons with its curbside collection program in 2004.

The city and county of Honolulu 1999 Waste Composition Study found that Oahu’s residential solid waste contains over forty-three per cent or one hundred thirty-seven thousand tons of paper, plastics, metal, and glass, most of which could be recycled. Almost ninety thousand tons of paper are discarded annually from Oahu homes. The city and county of Honolulu 1999 Analysis of Curbside Recycling found that an average curbside collection program could capture about thirty-nine thousand tons of recyclables annually.

The benefits of a curbside recycling program extend beyond the environmental gains. The city of Mesa, Arizona, with a population of three hundred fourteen thousand, saved money by integrating curbside recycling into its solid waste management system. After implementing curbside recycling, the city was able to reduce the number of garbage pick-ups from twice per week to just once.

The legislature further finds that Hawaii’s solid waste problems warrant mandating curbside recycling in Hawaii’s largest county.

The purpose of this Act is to require counties with a population of over seven hundred fifty thousand to establish a residential curbside recycling program and to appropriate moneys to the counties to establish the programs.

SECTION 2. Chapter 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§342G‑ County residential curbside recycling program. Beginning January 1, 2008, each county with a population of over seven hundred fifty thousand residents shall establish and implement a residential curbside recycling program. The residential curbside recycling program shall include newspaper, plastics, glass, and aluminum. The residential curbside recycling program shall be integrated into the county's residential solid waste collection and disposal program."

SECTION 3. Section 342G‑1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

""Residential curbside recycling" means the collection and recycling of residential recyclable materials from the same area where the residential household's solid waste is collected for disposal."

SECTION 4. Section 342G-25, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The program element shall include [~~at a minimum~~]:

(1) A waste stream assessment component;

(2) A source reduction component;

(3) A recycling and bioconversion component[;], including provisions for residential curbside recycling, if applicable, pursuant to 342G‑ ;

(4) An energy-balance component;

(5) A special waste component;

(6) A household hazardous waste component;

(7) A public education and information component;

(8) A landfill and incineration component;

(9) A marketing and procurement of materials component;

(10) A program implementation component; and

(11) A program funding component."

SECTION 5. Section 342G-26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The recycling and bioconversion component shall identify and assess:

(1) The level of waste reduction the county is achieving through existing recycling and bioconversion efforts;

(2) The type and amount of solid waste that it is technically and economically feasible to recycle or alter through bioconversion; and

(3) Methods to increase and improve the recycling and bioconversion efforts, including [~~opportunities for~~] residential curbside recycling and backyard composting.

For recycling, the counties shall assess the type and amount of solid waste that it is technically feasible to recycle, giving consideration at a minimum to clear glass, colored glass, aluminum, steel and bimetallic cans, high-grade office paper, newsprint, mixed paper, corrugated paper, HDPE, PET, and green waste.

For bioconversion, the counties shall assess the type and amount of solid waste that it is technically feasible to alter through bioconversion, giving consideration at a minimum to green waste, wood waste, animal manure, sewage sludge, and food wastes."

SECTION 6. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007-2008, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009, for a grant-in-aid to the city and county of Honolulu to establish a residential curbside recycling program.

The sums appropriated shall be expended by the city and county of Honolulu for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 7. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2007.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1701
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII