What’s better than a beautiful day in Hana? How about a beautiful day spent cleaning Hana?
The Community Work Day (CWD) program is depending on you to get involved and keep our island rubbish-free this Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1, from 8am to 2:30pm at a staging area located at the Hana Landfill. Just show up with your disposables and they’ll take care of the rest.
“We host a clean-up three times a year for Hana and once a year to host a similar recycling for residents of Keanae, Nahiku and Kipahulu,” says Community Work Day executive director Rhiannon Chandler. “We want to help those remote communities by providing access to recycling their bulk solid waste items that are not accepted at the landfill. This helps to keep our highways and ‘aina clean and clear of these items being dumped as was more often the case on the Eastside three or more years ago before CWD started this remote communities recycling program.”
CWD will accept appliances, scrap metal, tires, electronic waste–including TVs and computers–and batteries, both household and vehicle. CWD will not accept vehicles or propane tanks at this time. There will be a $5 per tire recycling fee for all tires.
Chandler says there are special challenges with large-item recycling and electronics with Hana’s remoteness. It’s not easy for residents to drop off their recyclables at the Kahului intake zones, setting the stage for illegal dump sites in East Maui. These Community Work Day programs have made a difference not just in clean-up, but also educating residents about how to dispose of these items.
“Remoteness can lend itself to dumping these kinds of recyclable items,” says Chandler. “The first time we did this recycling event, some Eastside communities were digging items like tires, metal and even car batteries up from the ground where they had buried them.”
Now Hana also has its own newly installed community drop box program for recycling newspaper, cardboard, aluminum, glass and plastic, which Chandler says is working out well for residents. Before that, residents had to go to Haiku to recycle those items.
“To keep our island clean and healthy and prevent roadside dumping on especially Hana highway is critical for safety,” says Chandler. “It’s difficult enough to drive without these kinds of solid waste obstacles on the side of the road. Every little bit that we can divert from the landfill and recycle saves money and precious natural resources.”
The recycling event is a group effort between the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management’s Abandoned Vehicles and Metals Section and Recycling Section, Maui Tow & Transport, Hammerhead Metals Recycling and Councilmember Bob Carroll’s Office. Elderly and disabled community members are encouraged to call CWD for help transporting items to the staging area.
An additional recycling day for the Nahiku Community only will take place on Thursday, Nov. 29. For more info call 808-877-2524 or email info@cwdhawaii.org.
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