Recycling for City Employees

TONS RECYCLED BY CITY EMPLOYEES

As a City employee you do make a difference! To date, you have recycled more than 1.9 million pounds of paper. All yard trimmings and grass from City parks and grounds are mulched or composted. Metal from various city operations is sent out for recycling. Even tires and lead acid batteries from City operations get recycled.

Since 1992, City employees have been recycling white and colored office paper, newspapers, and cardboard for a total of 1,498 tons. The data below show the tons recycled each year since the program began. Note: One ton equals 2,000 pounds.

The table below lists the city agencies and the amount of yard waste that is mulched and/or composted. The data is listed below in tons. In addition, the Department of Parks and Recreation has several yard waste chippers which are used on site to turn yard waste into mulch. These efforts divert much yard waste from the landfill and directly benefit local parks in the process. The Department of Parks and Recreation estimates their annual mulch production at 240 tons per year!

Metals from a variety of City operations are sent out for recycling. To date more than 4,600 tons have been diverted from the landfill.

Lead-acid batteries from City facilities are sent to the mainland for recycling. From January through December, 2002, the City recycled 3,240 batteries, or 62 tons.

Tires are turned into crumb rubber. Some of the crumb rubber is used locally as a landscaping product or for surfacing playgrounds. The remainder is either sold to manufacturing companies on the mainland or burned on Oahu for power generation. The table below gives the amounts and tonnage of tires recycled during fiscal year 01/02.

*During the months of October 2001 through January 2002, the City conducted an aggressive campaign to eliminate the potential threat of Dengue fever by encouraging residents to dispose of any unwanted items in yards that could breed mosquitos, such as tires.
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Since November 2002, Biodiesel (B20, a 20% blend of 100% Biodiesel and low sulphur diesel) has been dispensed from three City fuel sites -- Honolulu, Keehi and Kapaa. The volume of fuel dispensed from these three sites accounts for approximately 60% of the total volume of fuel dispensed at all City automotive fuel sites. Other yards are being considered, funds permitting. No modifications are required. The blend occurs during the transport to the fuel sites. No fuel related problems have been reported to date.

LOCAL RECYCLED CONTENT PRODUCTS

To learn more about recycled products manufactured in Hawaii, click here.

WASTE REDUCTION AND REUSE IDEAS

In addition to recycling, there are other important ways you can make a difference when taking care of garbage. Click here to go to the ideas for waste prevention listed in the Recycling for Business section of this web site.

Do you have other ideas for how city employees can reuse items, or use fewer resources in the first place? Email us with your ideas - info@opala.org.

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RECYCLING ORDINANCES

To increase recycling on Oahu, the City is committed to lead by example. Disposal restrictions like the ones for green waste and cardboard that the City imposes on the commercial sector, affect our own operations as well. Office paper recycling became mandatory for City agencies years before it was required for commercial buildings too. Please click here for more information about recycling ordinances which affect City offices as well as the commercial sector.

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COMPUTER RECYCLING

In accordance with the City’s recycling policy, unusable City computers and televisions must be recycled through a qualified company with a permit or ID from the State of Hawaii, Department of Health. For more information, please see the following document prepared by the Purchasing Division.

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FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE

City employees with recycling questions may email them to info@opala.org or call the City's Recycling Office at 768-3200.

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