County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management Solid Waste Division & Recycling Section

Due to changes in global recycling markets, starting December 1, 2018, the County of Hawai‘i will no longer accept #5 plastics, plastic grocery bags, nor any clam shell-type plastic (salad, bentos, fruit, etc.) in the mixed recyclable bins at the Recycling & Transfer Stations.

Examples of the #5 (polypropylene) plastics which will no longer be accepted: yogurt and hummus containers, syrup bottles, margarine tubs, prescription bottles and bottle caps.

The plastics that we will continue to accept in the mixed recyclable bins at the Recycling & Transfer Stations are clean #1 (PETE) and #2 (HDPE) plastic bottles, plastic jars, and jugs such as milk, jam, mayonnaise, juice, detergent containers, and household cleaner containers, etc. The following clean materials are also accepted in the mixed recycling bins:

• Aluminum Cans and Steel Cans (non-HI-5)
• Newspaper and Magazines
• Corrugated Cardboard
• Boxboard/Paperboard (examples are cereal and cake mix boxes)
• Mail and office type paper (No shredded paper)

Please visit www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/2-bin/ for a full list of recyclables which are accepted at the County of Hawai‘i Recycling & Transfer Stations.

The intent of the County of Hawai‘i Recycling program is to collect materials that can be diverted from the landfill by reusing the products or transporting the materials to market to be remanufactured into new products. Currently, markets for certain types of plastics are being saturated and the markets are demanding higher quality recyclables.

When incorrect or contaminated materials are thrown into the recycling bins, it can cause the entire bin to become contaminated and turns what could have been recycled into trash. Please only recycle what is now being accepted to avoid contamination.

The County of Hawai‘i community can be proud of how much is diverted from the landfill, however we can do better by placing the correct materials in the recycling bins.

For further information, please visit our website at www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/2-bin/ or
call 961-8942.

Changes to County of Hawai‘i Recycling Program - New List of Acceptables Starting December 1, 2018 (Media Release)

To help make the holidays greener, the Solid Waste Division of the Department of Environmental Management will again offer Tree-cycling.

Residential customers are encouraged to tree-cycle at the following Recycling and Transfer Stations which accept greenwaste and treecycling: Hilo, Keaʻau, Pāhoa, Volcano, Kealakehe (Kailua-Kona), Ke‘ei, and Waimea.

Please be aware that all decorations, stands, lights, tinsel, and ornaments must be removed prior to treecycling.  Please note that artificial trees, flocked trees, or trees with decorations cannot be tree-cycled, but may be disposed of in the regular trash chutes.

Residential customers may leave holiday trees in designated tree-cycling areas (but not in the rubbish chutes) during normal business hours between December 26, 2018 and January 15, 2019 only.  Facility attendants will direct the public to the proper treecycling drop-off point.  For more information or a map and directions to drop-off locations, go to http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/facilities/.

At the Hilo Recycling and Transfer Station, residential customers with only holiday trees for tree-cycling may proceed directly to the East Hawaiʻi Organics Facility and look for the designated tree-cycling area.  There is no need to go to the County scalehouse, as is normally required.  Residential loads with both greenwaste and holiday trees must first go to the County scalehouse to be weighed, prior to recycling.  All commercial haulers or commercial holiday tree collectors must proceed to the County scalehouse prior to disposal.

Commercial customers may tree-cycle at the East Hawaiʻi Organics Facility in Hilo or the West Hawaiʻi Organics Facility in Waikoloa.

Please note that tree-cycling is not available at the Miloli’i or Oceanview Transfer Stations.

Also, kadomatsu decorations may be placed in the normal tree-cycling areas.   Kadomatsu decorations are normally a combination of bamboo, pine and flowers. Kadomatsu is a tradition that began more than 600 years ago in Japan as a way of attracting good luck in the New Year.

Mahalo for recycling and keeping these resources out of the County landfills!

For more information on Recycling in Hawai‘i County call our Solid Waste Division, Recycling Section at 961-8942.

Treecyling - County of Hawai'i Recycles Holiday Trees 2018 (Media Release November 30, 2018)