What Happens to O‘ahu’s Waste
O‘ahu generates nearly 1.7 million tons of waste annually from residential, commercial and industrial sources. At your home, about 15% of your trash is recyclable newspaper, aluminum, glass and plastic; and 25 to 30% is compostable yard trimmings. What is in your trash at work varies with the type of business. In an office, as much as 85% of what goes into trash cans is recyclable office paper. In a retail operation, a major component of the waste is cardboard. In a restaurant, you will find a lot of glass and food waste in the trash.
Where it goes after it is collected?
Most residential and general commercial trash is disposed of at H-POWER. The city’s H-POWER waste-to-energy plant in Campbell Industrial Park processes over 700,000 tons of waste annually. Through incineration H-POWER produces up to 10% of O‘ahu’s electricity and reduces the volume of waste going to landfill by 90% with only 10% (ash) going to landfill.
Recycled waste is taken to local recycling facilities. The city recycles more than 400,000 tons of general material and 800,000 tons of construction and demolition material. Curbside recycling is available islandwide and most businesses have recycling programs in compliance with local mandates.
Non combustible construction and demolition (C&D) debris and industry wastes go directly to landfill. The city’s goal is to minimize the use of landfill for waste disposal. Waste-to-energy (H-POWER) and recycling currently divert more than one million tons of waste from landfill annually.