Hawaii-2012-HCR98-Introduced

WHEREAS, in 2008, the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force reported the findings from their two-year study, during which more than 10,500 residents were interviewed regarding the direction the State should take in the future; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan defines sustainability as achieving a quality of life while balancing the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs; striking a balance between economic prosperity, social, and community well-being and environmental stewardship; and respecting the culture, character, beauty, and history of the people of our State; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Task Force's goals are to boost energy from renewable resources from the current five per cent to twenty per cent of all energy use by the year 2020 and to increase the waste diverted from landfills in the State through recycling and other waste reduction strategies from thirty-one per cent to fifty per cent by the year 2020; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Green Growth Initiative is a group of government, business, and academic leaders who are working together to achieve targets in energy, food, and ecosystem security, for a sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future; and

WHEREAS, in support of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan, these leaders are working to achieve the ambitious goals for Hawaii by the year 2030; and

WHEREAS, recognizing different waste streams, including green and organic waste, that are filling up landfill space, recent initiatives ban green waste in landfills to enable scarce landfill space to be used for other wastes; and

WHEREAS, demand for more efficient and effective use of green waste could create new resources for other industries; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Green Growth Initiative's goals are to have seventy per cent clean energy (forty per cent from renewable resources and thirty per cent from conservation), double the current amount of local food production (up to twenty to thirty per cent of food consumed locally), reverse the trend of natural resource loss, and increase local green jobs and education to achieve these goals; and

WHEREAS, each county's Department of Solid Waste Management, has autonomy within its county to negotiate, collect, recycle, reuse, or dispose of waste within the county in a manner that reflects that county's unique needs and

WHEREAS, part III of chapter 342G, Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes each county to develop county integrated solid waste management plans and requires that these plans be submitted to the State for public review; and

WHEREAS, these county master plans are guidelines that offer direction and an implementation plan, but do not penalize or enforce losses if a county fails to meet the goals; and

WHEREAS, the State's current role in this process is to integrate the counties' goals and provide a framework for what counties should accomplish, as well as to recognize challenges that each county faces; and

WHEREAS, many of the counties' waste management plans incorporate existing county documents such as Hawaii County's Zero Waste Plan or Maui County's Recycling Initiative; these existing plans may be reviewed and incorporated statewide based on feasibility; and

WHEREAS, given the public's support, the State's initiatives may be more effective if each county's goals are incorporated into combined goals for all levels of government to strive to meet; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the Senate concurring, that the Office of Solid Waste Management of the Department of Health is requested to develop initiatives for improved reuse and recycling of green waste by working with each county to address each county's needs, geography, population, and unique industry make-up and to investigate turning green waste into a sustainable market of value-added products; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing the initiatives, the Office of Solid Waste Management is requested to assist each county in creating a plan with intermediate and long term goals to reaching Benchmarks Three and Four of the Hawaii 2050 Sustainability plan, as well as the Green Initiative benchmarks, and creating enforceable penalties for failing to reach goals by projected deadlines; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Solid Waste Management is requested to evaluate potential funding and financing sources for reuse and recycling of green waste and shall redirect resources where they are needed to ensure that each county meets its goals; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Solid Waste Management is requested to submit a preliminary report of its findings and recommendations including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013 and a final report no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2014; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; the Director of Health; the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Director of the Office of Solid

Waste Management; and the mayor and council chairperson of each county.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Green Waste

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	98
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII