On June 15, I had the amazingly eye-opening experience of attending the Tour de Trash offered by the Recycling Branch of the city’s Department of Environmental Services; this was their first post-pandemic tour.

A busload of us were taken to the facilities that take in and process the mountain of waste generated on Oahu every day: Hawaiian Earth Recycling in Wahiawa, where all the green-bin yard waste is taken to be processed into compost and mulch; the RRR Recycling Services Hawaii plant in Kapolei, where the blue-bin recyclables are taken; the HPOWER plant in Kapolei, where all other garbage is taken to be incinerated; and finally the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Kapolei, where all the HPOWER ash is taken.

There were so many lessons learned. Here’s just one takeaway: Don’t put plastic bags or anything besides yard waste into your green bins — it’s incredibly difficult to remove. Learn more from the education section at www.honolulu.gov/opala.

Marcia Kemble

Makiki

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