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JAHawaii's Trash → Mainland???
Situated at the center of the Pacific Ocean, with its moderate temperature and scenic beauty, Hawaii is paradise for visitors around the world each year. The tropical islands is, and always has been, the place where people want to go to heal their bodies and minds. But one other thing that hasn't changed over the years, is the growing concern of the trash we make here, and what to do with it.
The age-old question has always been, "where do you dispose of trash in a place completely surrounded by water?" We've been using landfills and burning our trash to cope with the problem, but it isn't enough anymore. Between both Hawaii residents and the tourists who come here, just how much trash are we actually making? The amount is probably too great to imagine.
Recently, the State of Hawaii has finally woken up, making plans and regulations to combat the growing trash disposal and recycling problem. The current aluminum can and bottle recycling programs that have been set up across the state is one example of this movement. However, now a new, shocking plan has surfaced - one that sees Hawaii's trash being transported by boat to the mainland for disposal there.
According to the plan, Hawaii's trash is scheduled to be sent to the mainland for disposal in 2008. Preparations have been steadily progressing for some time now, and by August of this year, a bidding will open to determine which company will be transporting our trash to the mainland. A decision is expected to be made by September 20.
Martin Okabe, executive assistant to the Environment Services director, Eric Takamura, said "We will continue to process recyclable waste in the islands, but for waste that is too difficult to dispose of here, we've determined that it would be best to send it to the mainland, even if it costs a bit more to do so."
Of course, if it ends up costing too much, the state will immediately cancel the project, however, many of the companies interested in transporting the trash to the mainland have stated that it would only cost "$70-$80 per ton of trash" to transport. So, the issue of cost seems to have been settled already.
The budget that has been set aside for this plan is $5 million for half a year, making it $10 million for the entire year. The question is, should we be using all this money just for trash disposal alone, or should we be using it to build recycling facilities in the islands in instead? The answer should be one that citizens agree on, since we're all in this together.
