Henry Gabriel, Recycling Program Branch Chief for the City & County of Honolulu, joins producer/host Coralie Chun Matayoshi to discuss what goes in the blue bins, where our e-waste goes, where to dispose electronic devices and batteries, and the City's plan to collect food waste in the green bins starting in April 2026.
Q. During the holiday season, most people are thinking of what to buy and what to eat. On the other hand, Henry is thinking of what's going to happen to all the leftover food and trash? Tell us what you are doing about this.
Food waste constitutes about 20% of the city's trash that goes to H-Power, along with other items that cannot be recycled or composted (e.g. plastic bags, mattresses, furniture). H-Power incinerates the trash and uses the steam to power a generator that supplies up to 10% of Oahu's electricity. The remaining ash (about 10% of the original volume) goes to the landfill. Hawaiian Earth Recycling already processes green waste like leaves, branches, and grass trimmings into compost which is bagged and sold as Menehune Magic. About two years ago, a contract was awarded to add food waste to the processing which makes the compost better for farming and reduces the amount of food waste that goes to H-Power. The contract extends to 2045 and includes manufactured compostable material (MCM). MCM will be phased in as there much needed research on PFAS content in MCM and the potential for plant uptake.
Q. You're also thinking of innovative ways to use the ash produced by H-Power instead of sending it to the landfill, right?
The City has contracted ReWorld, the operators of H-Power, to produce an aggregate from ash to be used in asphalt paving. ReWorld will be occupying the City Enhance Material Recovery Facility in back of H-Power to process ash into an aggregate. ReWorld is still in the process of collecting data and sampling the aggregate for reuse.
Q. Where is the food waste coming from right now - restaurants, schools?
Of the 20% of food waste in our waste stream roughly half of the food waste is commercial to include restaurants and schools and the other half is residentially generated. The City has a Food Waste Ordinance in place. However, itʻs mostly for the large generators of food waste ie hotels, grocery stores, large food establishments. Over the past few years, the City has focused on collecting food waste at the curb utilizing the existing green cart
Q. How are you going to get residents to recycle their food waste, and how are you going to pick it up?
The City hired a consulting firm to put together an educational campaign to collect food waste curbside. Weʻll be collecting food waste along with green waste in the green composting cart. There will be no additional carts. This campaign will include best management practices to store your food waste prior to putting the food waste in loose. Freezing food waste in sealable bag and placing into the green composting cart the night before will be the best way to participate in this program. Weʻll be hosting workshops and presenting at Neighborhood Board Meetings and Home Association Meeting to gain participation. The City plans to pilot 5 or 6 neighborhoods starting April 1, 2026 and go island wide 6 months after. The biggest motivation is landfill space. The more we can divert from the waste stream, the less dependent we are on a landfill for municipal solid waste. Once collected, the green waste and food waste will be composted utilizing an invessel system that controls the environment producing a finish compost in a shorter period of time compared to the windrow system.
Q. The blue bin is supposed to be for #1 and #2 plastics, aluminum cans, glass bottles, newspaper, office paper, and corrugated cardboard. What happens when people throw hazardous household materials and e-waste in their blue or gray bins?
Electronic waste like computers, monitors, printers, laptops and tablets, and cell phones contain hazardous materials such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, lithium, and mercury, which can leach into the soil and water if improperly discarded. Living on an island makes it even more critical to manage these materials responsibly. Proper e-waste disposal helps protect our land, water, and public health. In addition, lithium batteries can ignite and cause fires enroute or at the recycling facility. In fact, H-Power has fire hoses and extinguishers on hand in case this happens. In the case of e-waste containing lithium batteries, once the battery casing is damaged there's the potential for fires. In 2024, there were nearly 44 fires caused by lithium batteries. Recently, we had a propane tank explode during the processing of garbage at H-Power. The City has drop off location for both hazardous waste material such as a propane tank, pesticides, and rechargeable batteries.
Q. So where should our e-waste go?
The City and County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services has installed new blue e-waste disposal bins at convenience centers and refuse transfer stations island wide. This will help protect Hawaii's environment and encourage residents to safely recycle their electronics. Items dropped off in the designated bins are collected by the City's recycling partner, T&N, and diverted from the landfill. And it's not only large items that can be recycled - even items like old cell phones, routers, and cables can and should be dropped off at the City's convenience centers and refuse transfer stations. Residents can also take advantage of programs like Going Green events, 3-Rs School Recycling Drives, Kokua Foundations, and E-Opala events. Businesses are encouraged to visit the City's e-waste webpage for a list of approved recyclers. To learn more about the City's E-Waste Disposal Program -- including drop-off locations and upcoming recycling events -- visit https://www.opala.org or call the City's Recycling Branch at (808) 768-3201.
Q. Doesn't the State of Hawaii have a law requiring manufacturers of electronic devices to operate recycling programs? How does that work?
The Hawaii Electronic Device Recycling and Recovery Law requires manufacturers of electronic devices to operate recycling programs. Electronic devices (EDs) include computers, computer printers, computer monitors, portable computers with a screen size greater than four inches measured diagonally, and televisions with a viewable screen of nine inches or larger. Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 339D. The Stateʻs definition of E-waste was amended on June 3, 2025 to include fax machines, videocassete recorders, CD players, DVD players, routers, modems and electronic peripherals for example a keyboard, mouse, wires, and power supplies. Manufacturers pay a registration fee to do business in the State of Hawaii and part of this application process is to submit a recycling plan to include working with certified e-waste recyclers on island to collect e-waste. The recycling of ewaste are fully funded by the manufacturers. These manufacturer have recycling goals based on a percentage of sales as part of the law.
Q. Are there different methods for disposing used electronic devices versus batteries?
Electronic devices and batteries require different disposal methods due to the varying materials and potential hazards they contain. Proper recycling ensures safety and environmental protection. Standalone rechargeable batteries can be dropped off at City Convenience Centers and transfer stations. There's a container specifically for standalone batteries. There's a separate blue bin for electronic waste. Batteries are shipped to a battery recycler where the lithium is extracted and sold for reuse. Electronic waste is shipped to an electronic waste recycler where the precious metals (e.g. gold, platinum, aluminum and rare earth metals) are extracted. Lithium is also extracted.
Q. What is the difference between standalone and embedded batteries?
Standalone batteries can be easily removed from devices, while embedded batteries are built and designed into the device and are not easily removable.
Q. Where do people need to take each kind of battery?
* Standalone alkaline batteries - dispose of in regular trash or at designated drop-off disposal sites.
* Standalone rechargeable (lithium, NiMH, NiCad, lead acid) batteries - take to one of the city's convenience centers, transfer stations, hazardous drop-off location, or battery recycling businesses (e.g. Battery Bill).
* Embedded lithium batteries - may be dropped off at city hazardous waste drop-off location, by appointment only.
Q. What should residents do with a damaged/swollen/"ballooning" lithium battery?
Residents should place damaged, swollen, or "ballooning" lithium batteries in a non-flammable material (like sand or kitty litter) and take them to a hazardous waste collection site. Battery Bills and E-Opala will take damaged, defective and recalled (DDR) batteries.
Q. A big issue going forward is how to dispose of all of the solar panels everyone's got on their rooftops. Aren't many of them coming up on the end of their 20-25 year lifespan?
Solar panels are a hazardous waste and need to be disposed of at a hazardous waste landfill or sold for reuse. There's currently no company on Oahu that is recycling solar panels. Hopefully, as the State converts to alternative energy, we also start to think about the disposal method for alternative energy waste.
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