HILO — The county could save up to $1.5 million annually by trucking East Hawaii’s garbage to West Hawaii rather than expanding the Hilo landfill, according to a consultant’s report released Wednesday.
HILO — The county could save up to $1.5 million annually by trucking East Hawaii’s garbage to West Hawaii rather than expanding the Hilo landfill, according to a consultant’s report released Wednesday.
Despite increases in fuel prices, the report counters a 2009 study that found just the opposite — that it’s cheaper to expand the Hilo landfill to handle east-side garbage.
The 226-page report, by consultant R.W. Beck, says uncertainties with federal, state and county permits and zoning, the landfill’s proximity to Hilo International Airport and the area’s heavy rainfall and highly porous land all contribute to it being a poor choice for landfill expansion. In addition, the county would likely be required to install an expensive landfill gas collection and control system, the study says. Beck was granted a $199,950 contract for the study.
“In our opinion, while it is technically feasible, it is neither practical nor economically sound to proceed with design and permitting a landfill expansion in Hilo,” the report concludes. “Permitting constraints, land use constraints and leachate management issues all present significant and perhaps insurmountable obstacles.”
The new study should be no surprise to North Kona Councilman Angel Pilago, who last year had grilled the administration on why a new study was needed at all. Pilago at the time accused the county of “throwing money down a hole” when the issue has been studied at length. He was skeptical about the result.
“So no matter what, we’re still looking to gather information to justify trucking,” Pilago said at the time. “That’s what our current study is going to show.”
Pilago was off-island Wednesday and couldn’t be reached for further comment. Former Environmental Management Director Frank DeMarco at the time said he took exception that the administration was “forcing a result.”
Deputy Director Hunter Bishop reiterated Wednesday that the administration hasn’t yet decided how to handle the waste.
“In the coming months, we’ll be reviewing the report in detail,” Bishop said. “We’ve made no decisions based on the findings in the report.”
The county in 2009 paid consultant CH2MHill $525,000 to create the Integrated Resources and Solid Waste Management Plan, a 10-year plan required by state law. A report within the plan put the per-ton cost of trucking Hilo’s garbage to the West Hawaii landfill in Puuanahulu at $82, compared to $69 to $73 a ton to expand the Hilo landfill into adjacent quarries.
Ka‘u Councilwoman Brittany Smart, chairwoman of the council’s Environmental Management Committee, said she was “disappointed” by the study.
“There should be a new lined landfill in Hilo and the old landfill should be mined,” Smart said. “Just looking at trucking, we’re taking the short view again.”
The new study calculates hauling costs over Saddle Road rather than the more lengthy route through Hamakua. It assumes 20-ton trailers making 10 trips per day for a 156-mile round trip.
It estimates it would cost $53 to $57 ton to load, haul and dispose of waste in the West Hawaii landfill, using the county’s current contract rate with Waste Management Inc. for west-side garbage. The estimate could increase to $61 to $71 a ton if the contract savings for West Hawaii garbage are not extended to East Hawaii garbage, the study says.
“It must be noted that a review of the contract terms of the county’s contract with Waste Management was not in the scope of work of this study,” the report says. “The durability of the current operational cost structure over an extended period has not been evaluated.”
The county needs to do something because the Hilo landfill has just five to eight years left. Expanding into the adjacent 75-acre quarry would extend the landfill another 47 years, according to the CH2MHill study.
Council Chairman Dominic Yagong has long been an advocate for expanding the Hilo landfill. He questioned how rising gas prices would factor into the equation, and said the island is simply too large to have just one landfill.
“With Puna being the fastest-growing region on the island it makes sense to have a landfill that can handle their waste,” Yagong said. “All we’re doing is shortening the life of the West Hawaii landfill, and West Hawaii is growing too, and they’re going to need every single inch of the landfill in Kona that they have.”
Garbage from 12 transfer stations is already being trucked to the West Hawaii landfill, which has an expected life span of another 38 years, or 27 years if the Hilo garbage stream is added. Garbage as far east as Laupahoehoe on the north side of the island and Naalehu on the south side is currently trucked west to Puuanahulu.
The cost for building a new 7-acre cell at the landfill is estimated at $9.7 million. Future cells would cost about $1.3 million an acre. Estimated operating cost of the expanded landfill is $2.86 million annually.
Closing the landfill will be costly as well. Capping and closing the landfill would cost about $18 million, with an additional $4.7 million if a gas collection and control system is added. Annual costs of the closed landfill would be about $240,000, the study says.