|
East Oahu has Key Role in Environmental Protection
Together we're making a difference
by MAYOR MUFI HANNEMANN
Sun Columnist
Many more East Oahu residents and others across the island will soon be able to participate in the curbside residential recycling program the City launched in Hawaii Kai and Mililani last October. This program has been an impressive success, and I'd like to personally thank all the residents who have participated. Together, we're making a difference, protecting our environment, and decreasing the amount of waste that ends up in our landfill.
As I announced in April, the City will expand the program in November to 40,000 more homes, including East Oahu neighborhoods from Kuliouou to Kapahulu and Manoa.
Households that participate in this exciting new project are helping lead Oahu into a future that's cleaner, greener and more sustainable. Making curbside recycling an island-wide success will require a little time and a lot of effort, and we want to help by sharing information about how our island's waste stream is managed.
Our award-winning Tour de Trash program leads residents on learning excursions to waste-processing and recycling facilities, and provides unique learning opportunities. Upcoming tours will focus on recycling of yard trimmings, tires and cooking oil; recycling of construction and demolition waste, and metal car parts and appliances; and the H-Power garbage-to-energy plant, which disposes of more than 600,000 tons of trash every year while producing enough electricity to power 45,000 homes.
H-Power has disposed of more than 11 million tons of waste over the past 18 years, offset 480 million gallons of fuel oil that would have been burned to generate electricity, and helped prevent 11 million tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted into the atmosphere.
We plan to soon expand H-Power's capabilities by adding a third boiler, which will allow the facility to dispose of thousands of additional tons of trash. This modification will further reduce the amount of opala that's sent to the landfill.
Mass transit is also tremendously important for environmental protection, by decreasing carbon emissions and reliance on automobiles and fossil fuels, as well as providing alternatives to traffic gridlock. The City's fixed guideway transit system will run from Kapolei to Ala Moana, with spurs to Manoa and Waikiki. Construction is expected to begin next year, and we're very excited about this important project that's so important for our island's future.
Many of you are working hard in other ways to protect our environment. I'd like to send a special mahalo to all those who participated in Earth Hour on March 29. Thousands of you turned off your lights, electronic devices and nonessential equipment between 8 and 9 P.M. as a gesture to raise awareness about energy conservation, the need to end our dependency on fossil fuels, and the threat of global climate change. Earth Hour began last year in Sydney, Australia, and has quickly become a worldwide movement that promises to grow larger next year.
You'll be hearing much more about curbside recycling in the months ahead, and we're getting ready to present our fourth annual Discover Recycling fair on September 25 through the 27th at the Blaisdell Arena. For more information about this event, and other ways to participate in recycling and make a difference in your community, please visit www.opala.org.
|
|
