ASD icon blue inverse lighter

ASD Staff

Hawai'i Skies

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Katie Helland at The Royal Hawaiian. "The last light at The Royal Hawaiian, while celebrating with friends."

To submit your Hawai'i Skies photo, visit us 

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

25 10 23 Katie Helland

<title>Hawai'i Skies: Last light</title>

Today's Hawai'i Skies was captured by Katie Helland at The Royal Hawaiian.

Hawai'i Skies: Last light

Today&#039;s Hawai&#039;i Skies was captured by Katie Helland at The Royal Hawaiian. &quot;The last light at The Royal Hawaiian, while celebrating with friends.&quot; To submit your Hawai&#039;i Skies photo, visit us online or email: general@alohastatedaily.com For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.

Stephanie Salmons Headshot

Stephanie Salmons

 A storm system bringing severe weather to the Islands has prompted a number of closures across the state.

In advance of the severe weather conditions, Gov. Josh Green issued an emergency proclamation effective through Feb. 11 unless extended “to mobilize state resources and support response efforts.”

“The safety of our residents and visitors is our top priority,” Green said in an announcement Sunday. “We know this storm system could bring conditions that make travel unsafe and threaten property. Please take this time to secure your home, check on loved ones and heed guidance from emergency officials. Hawaiʻi is strongest when we look out for one another – and that starts with being prepared.”

You can find preparation guidelines, as well as links to sign up for alerts from your own county’s emergency management agencies, on the 

Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency website

·      All state offices and the state Department of Education schools across all islands will be closed Monday, Feb. 9, the Governor’s Office notes. Affected state employees will receive administrative leave for the day, but essential personnel and emergency response workers should follow guidance from their supervisors.

·      All University of Hawaiʻi campuses will be closed Monday and all in-person and online classes are canceled. Employees critical to health, safety and recovery operations should check with their supervisors regarding reporting requirements, the university says.

·      The Hawaiʻi State Legislature will be closed Monday.

·      The Judiciary also will close all courthouses and operations on Monday. Filing deadlines have been extended to Tuesday and all hearings will be rescheduled, the governor’s office notes.

·      All Division I boys basketball regional first-round games originally scheduled for Monday have been postponed and will be held instead on Tuesday, Feb. 10, according to 

Hawaiʻi High School Athletic Association

 for more information and for specific site-by-site tip-off times and location updates. 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On Oʻahu:"}]

·      The City and County of Honolulu will close all non-essential offices and services through at least Monday. Non-essential personnel should not report to work, the city said in an announcement Sunday.

·      The Honolulu Zoo closed Sunday in an effort to protect visitors, staff and the animals. In an announcement, the city says it will monitor weather conditions and work with city emergency management officials to determine a reopening date. Updates will be posted to the zoo’s social media.

·      All Honolulu municipal golf courses are temporarily closed.

·      The city’s park facilities are closed for public use through Feb. 9, including athletic fields, pools, outdoor courts and other outdoor park facilities. According to the Department of Parks and Recreation, all  permitted activities and park classes are canceled. All Honolulu Botanical Gardens will also remain closed through Monday. The Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is regularly closed on Monday and Tuesday, DPR noted.

·      Overnight camping at all city campgrounds was suspended Saturday night, with the closure lasting through Wednesday, Feb. 11, the city says.

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"},{"type":"bold"}],"text":"On Neighbor Islands:"}]

  noted that its solid waste facilities and most county park facilities, including all beach parks, were closed. All non-essential county services will be closed Monday.

As of 3 p.m. Sunday, shelters have opened at Waimea Community Center, 65-1260 Kawaihae Road, Waimea; Ikuo Hisaoka Gymnasium, 54-382 Kamehameha Park Road, Kapaʻau; Honokaʻa Sports Complex Gym, 45-541 Lehua St. Honokaʻa; and Papāʻaloa Park Community Center, 35-1994 Government Main Road, Papāʻaloa.

Waipio Valley Road will be closed through 8 a.m. Tuesday, with access only for valley residents and farmers.

, Kauaʻi County Emergency Management Agency noted that emergency refuge areas were on standby and locations will be announced if needed and as they become available. Meanwhile, refuse transfer stations and the Kekaha Landfill may close with little or no advance notice because of weather conditions.

Kūhiō Highway near the Hanalei Bridge may also close with little or no advance notice, particularly if a flash flood warning is issued, the county notes.

·      On Maui, Hāna Highway via Haʻikū and Kaupō has been restricted to local access only due to safety concerns from fallen trees and landslides, the county said in an 

Those who are unsheltered and seeking dry shelter during the story can go to Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center in Wailuku and must sign in at the operations desk for assistance.

Kepaniwai Heritage Park in ʻĪao Valley also was closed Sunday due to rising waters and rain safety concerns, the announcement noted.

, northeast winds from 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph are expected Sunday night, along with showers and isolated thunderstorms.

Monday is expected to be very windy with showers and isolated thunderstorms “windward and mountains.” Locally heavy rainfall is possible. East winds are expected to reach 25 to 40 mph, with gusts up to 60 mph.

As of Sunday afternoon, a high wind warning is in effect for all islands until 6 p.m. Monday and a high surf warning is in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the east-facing shores of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokai, Maui, Kahoʻolawe and Hawaiʻi Island.

 that a gale warning is in effect until 6 p.m. Monday for all Hawaiian coastal waters, and a flood watch in in effect for all islands through 6 p.m. Monday.

And on the Big Island, a winter storm warning is in effect for  summits above 11,000 feet in elevation through 6 p.m. Monday, with snow accumulations of 10 to 16 inches expected on the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up 

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":" "}]

Storm damage Feb 2026

<title>Storm closures across the Islands</title>

High winds Sunday have led to a range of closures Monday, from schools to the Legislature.

Storm closures across the Islands

Katie Helland Headshot

Katie Helland

Arts & Entertainment

A quick parkour across roofs, a fight that ends in a broken nose, and a wild drive down Interstate H3, pursued by helicopters. That is just a day-in-the-life for Pika, one of the sidekicks of the Hale brothers at the heart of 

The fast-paced action comedy features estranged brothers Jonny Hale (Jason Momoa) and James Hale (Dave Bautista), who reunite in Hawai’i to figure out who murdered their father. The movie, which also stars 

launched on Amazon Prime Video on Jan. 27

Prior to “The Wrecking Crew,” Batalon has been in a number of movies and television series. He is known for playing Ned Leeds in five Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, starting with “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017).

For Batalon, who grew up on Oʻahu and graduated from the Kalihi-based Damien Memorial School, “The Wrecking Crew” was a chance to break out the pidgin.

“I think being from Hawaiʻi, you don't really get the chance to do it in a lot of American media,” he said. “It's very specific.”

Batalon now lives in New York, but he visits Hawaiʻi and still calls it home.

“Unless I'm back home, that's the only time I ever really talk like that,” he said with a laugh. “It was fun for sure.”

Batalon’s first scene opposite Momoa involved a punch to the nose for his character, Pika. It also included blood and a strong drink. But the actual real-life meeting between the actors went much more smoothly.

“Actually, the first time we met, he just gave me a big hug,” Batalon said. “He's like: ʻDude it's gonna be so great. We're gonna be bustin’ each other's balls. It's gonna be so fun. It’s bros doing bro stuff.’ And that immediately disarmed me.”

“The Wrecking Crew” included 12 days of filming in Hawaiʻi and 43 days in New Zealand, Angela Laprete, the Hawaiʻi producer for the movie, told ASD. Laprete is a founder of the 

Hawai’i Film Alliance, which formed in July

 and is advocating for tax incentives that could bring more movies and television shows to Hawai’i and have them stay longer.

“I think ʻThe Wrecking Crew’ kind of calls back to a lot of the 80s- and 90s-style action cop buddy movies,” he said. “A lot of the movie pays homage to that.”

Batalon's ties to the Islands remains strong.

“My family still lives in Salt Lake,” he said. “I try to go back, but it's hard. It's like a really expensive flight if no one's paying for you.”

[{"type":"text","marks":[{"type":"textStyle"}],"text":"Batalon laughs."}]

The cast for “The Wrecking Crew” was filming the last parts of the movie in January of 2025, he added, which gave him an opportunity to bring his fiancée, 

“I took her to all at my favorite food spots,” he said. “It was pretty great.”

Batalon was especially glad to enjoy the milder weather and beaches. He also took his 

Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice classic 

When Batalon spoke with Aloha State Daily on Tuesday, Jan. 27, his family had not yet seen the movie.

“I think they're gonna watch it tomorrow,” he said . “They’re very skittish when it comes to gory action movies. I don't know how they're gonna respond to seeing me with a broken nose.”

"The Wrecking Crew"

<title>Honolulu-born Jacob Batalon speaks pidgin in Prime's new action comedy</title>

This graduate of Damien Memorial School returned to Oʻahu to film part the movie, “The Wrecking Crew.” The buddy cop film, which stars Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista as estranged brothers, launched on Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Honolulu-born Jacob Batalon speaks pidgin in Prime's new action comedy

Scan 20241017 2

Corey Idleburg

Viewpoints

Government & Politics

Malia, a single mother of two, works full-time as a medical assistant in Honolulu, earning about $47,000 a year. Malia spends 60% of her paycheck on rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Kalihi, and most weeks, she runs out of money for groceries, so she relies on local food banks until her next paycheck. When her daughter needed urgent care last month, Malia delayed the visit for three days because she was between insurance coverage. Her 15-year-old car broke down, and without $1,200 for repairs, she now spends 3 hours a day on TheBus getting to work and to her kids' school.

By the government's measure, Malia isn't poor because her income is well above the poverty threshold of $39,852 for a family of three, so she does not qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP.

Malia's story reveals a critical gap in how we understand economic hardship in Hawai

i: the official poverty rate was 10.1% in 2023, suggesting nine out of 10 Hawai

i residents are doing fine. But that single number, based only on income, masks the reality that hundreds of thousands of families face compounding challenges that income alone can't measure.

[{"type":"text","text":"The measurement gap"}]

For more than 60 years, the United States has measured poverty the same way: calculate the minimum income needed to afford food, multiply by three, and adjust for family size. If your income falls below that threshold, you're officially poor. If it doesn't, you're not.

This approach made sense in 1963 when the poverty line was created, and families spent about one-third of their income on food. But it hasn't kept pace with how family budgets have changed, especially in Hawai

i, where housing, not food, has become the dominant expense.

The federal poverty threshold for a family of three is $24,860. Hawai

i's official threshold is about 15% higher, at roughly $28,000, to account for our elevated costs. But even this adjustment misses the mark. According to the latest data, the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in urban Honolulu exceeds $2,200 per month, or $26,400 annually, which is more than the entire federal poverty threshold for a family of three.

Researchers have long known that income-based poverty measures miss critical dimensions of hardship. People need more than a minimum income; they need affordable housing, access to nutritious food, health care, education, and reliable transportation. When families lack these basics simultaneously, the impact compounds in ways that a simple income threshold can't capture.

Consider food security, or rather, the lack of it. While official poverty statistics counted 10.1% of Hawai

i's population as poor in 2023, a comprehensive study by Hawai

i Foodbank found that 32% of households experienced food insecurity in 2024. That's nearly one in three families who are uncertain about where their next meal will come from.

The numbers are even starker in specific communities. On Hawai

i Island, 40% of households faced food insecurity. Among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families, the rate exceeded 40%. Six percent of children went entire days without eating.

These aren't people captured by the poverty line. Many are working full-time. They're making choices between paying rent and buying groceries, between electricity and fresh vegetables. The official poverty rate doesn't ask these questions.

The housing story is similarly obscured. Official poverty measures acknowledge housing exists, but they don't measure whether families can actually afford it. Separate data from Aloha United Way paints a different picture: 44% of households are "ALICE"— Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These families earn above the poverty line but can't afford basic necessities including housing, childcare, food, transportation and health care.

This isn't about living comfortably. The ALICE threshold represents a bare-minimum budget: the cheapest housing available, the least expensive childcare, minimal food costs, basic transportation and catastrophic-only health insurance. Nearly half of Hawai

i families can't meet even this survival budget, despite working.

Health care access reveals another dimension. While the official poverty rate doesn't measure health insurance coverage, American Community Survey data shows that in 2023, approximately 12% of Hawai

i's working-age population lacked health insurance. Those without coverage face impossible choices when illness strikes — forgo care and risk worsening conditions, or seek treatment and face bills that can push families into debt.

The challenge extends beyond insurance. The federal government has designated large swaths of rural Hawai

i as Medically Underserved Areas, including all of Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi, most of Hawai

i Island, and parts of Maui and Oʻahu. Families in these areas face long drives to reach basic medical care, a burden that compounds when transportation is already a struggle.

[{"type":"text","text":"How hardships intersect"}]

Understanding poverty requires seeing how these challenges interlock. A family paying 60% of income for rent has little left for food, leading to food insecurity. Food insecurity affects children's ability to concentrate in school, impacting educational outcomes. Poor educational outcomes limit future employment opportunities. Lack of reliable transportation makes it harder to access better-paying jobs, quality health care, or affordable grocery stores. Each deprivation reinforces the others.

This is what researchers call "multidimensional poverty": the experience of simultaneous deprivations across multiple areas of life. While national researchers have developed frameworks to measure this, Hawai

i lacks a comprehensive local measure that accounts for our unique circumstances.

i's veterans, a population where we actually have good data tracking multiple dimensions. According to federal housing data, approximately 20,270 Hawai

i veterans, 36% of veteran homeowners, face housing affordability challenges, living in homes with quality problems, overcrowding, or severe cost burdens. Federal estimates suggest 283 veterans experience homelessness. These housing challenges often intersect with health care needs, employment barriers and food insecurity.

i has also shown what targeted, multidimensional intervention can achieve with this population. Between 2015 and 2022, the state reduced veteran homelessness by 51%, far exceeding the national average. This success came from programs that addressed not just housing but also health care, employment support and case management. It demonstrates both the importance of measuring multiple dimensions and the potential for coordinated solutions.

[{"type":"text","text":"The full picture"}]

When we look across multiple measures, a more complete picture emerges. The official poverty rate captures 10.1% of the population. But:

These aren't separate groups of people. There's substantial overlap. A single working mother might be above the poverty line (not counted as poor), but experience food insecurity (counted in the 32%), qualify as ALICE (counted in the 44%), live in a medically underserved area, and spend 65% of her income on rent. Each challenge makes the others harder to overcome.

The demographics reveal additional layers. Native Hawai

an and Pacific Islander families experience food insecurity at rates exceeding 40%. Hawai

i Island shows both the highest food insecurity (40%) and significant challenges with health care access. Families with children face particularly acute pressures, with 34% of households with children reporting that one or more keiki is food insecure.

[{"type":"text","text":"Why measurement matters"}]

Why does measurement matter? Because how we count determines what we see, and what we see shapes how we respond.

When we measure only income-based poverty, we miss the working families who are one car repair away from crisis. We overlook the trade-offs families make between food and rent, between health care and electricity. We fail to see how geographic isolation compounds economic challenges in rural areas. We don't capture the full scope of need in our communities.

Better measurement doesn't automatically create solutions, but it enables smarter responses. The success in reducing veteran homelessness came from recognizing that housing alone wasn't enough. Veterans needed coordinated support across multiple dimensions. Food banks can target resources more effectively when they understand which communities face the highest rates of food insecurity. Policymakers can design programs that address the interactions between housing costs and food security rather than treating them as separate issues.

More comprehensive measurement also reveals what's working. If Hawai

i implements programs to reduce housing cost burdens, we can track whether food insecurity also decreases. When we improve transportation access, we can measure impacts on health care utilization and employment. Understanding how challenges intersect allows us to identify interventions that create positive ripple effects across multiple areas.

[{"type":"text","text":"Moving toward understanding"}]

i faces unique economic challenges that national poverty measures weren't designed to capture. Our housing costs rank among the nation's highest. Our island geography creates barriers to accessing services that mainlanders take for granted. Our diverse population experiences hardship differently across communities. Our dependence on shipping makes us vulnerable to supply chain disruptions that affect food security.

Developing a more comprehensive understanding of economic hardship in Hawai

i would help us see these intersections clearly. Several states and regions have created multidimensional poverty measures tailored to their specific contexts. Hawai

i could do the same, incorporating our existing data on food security, housing affordability, health care access, and geographic challenges into a framework that shows how these factors combine.

The goal isn't to prove that more people are struggling, though the data suggests current measures significantly undercount hardship. Rather, it's to understand the nature of that struggle more completely. Only by seeing the full picture can communities, organizations and policymakers develop responses that address the actual challenges Hawai

i families face, not just the ones that fit neatly into a single income threshold created more than 60 years ago.

Reprinted with permission from Corey Idleburg, executive director of 

The Learning Observatory, a Hawaiʻi nonprofit focused on research translation and public learning. Learn more at 

Downtown Honolulu 010625

<title>Community Voices: Beyond the poverty line: Why income alone doesn't tell Hawaiʻi's…</title>

Several states and regions have created multidimensional poverty measures tailored to their specific contexts. Hawaiʻi could do the same.

Community Voices: Beyond the poverty line: Why income alone doesn't tell Hawaiʻi's economic story

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta Headshot

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta

Food & Dining

Last October, The Kāhala Hotel & Resort announced that 

Alan Wong’s would be replacing Hoku’s as its signature restaurant

The resort announced today that, after 30 years of service, Hoku’s at The Kāhala will conclude its last dinner service on Feb. 20. The restaurant’s closure will lead to the opening of Alan Wong’s Kāhala Hotel & Resort, scheduled to debut on March 25.

Hoku’s last Sunday brunch service will be Feb. 15. On Feb. 23, restaurant reservations for Alan Wong’s Kāhala Hotel & Resort will be available via OpenTable for dining on and after April 8.

The Veranda — known for its afternoon tea — will temporarily close during the transition and reopen with regular service upon the opening of Alan Wong’s. Customers can also look forward to the return of the resort’s popular Sunday brunch on March 29 with no changes to the current menu selection.

Guests who want an earlier dining experience at Alan Wong’s can book The Kāhala Hotel & Resort’s 

. The package includes a dining credit, exclusive restaurant reservations during its first two weeks of operation, daily breakfast buffet at Plumeria Beach House and spa credit. The eatery will open to the general public on April 8.

These milestones are part of The Kāhala’s “Legacy of Aloha” celebration, which honors the resort’s rich history. As part of the celebration, the resort has undergone an extensive refresh of its suites and guest rooms; upgrades include new flooring and local collaborations.

“The Legacy of Aloha represents everything The Kāhala stands for — genuine hospitality, deep respect for place, and meaningful guest experiences,” states Joe Ibarra, general manager of The Kāhala Hotel & Resort. “As we bid farewell to Hoku’s and prepare to welcome Alan Wong’s, we are entering an exciting new chapter that further elevates The Kāhala as a destination for exceptional dining and refined luxury.”

For more information, visit The Kāhala Hotel & Resort’s 

Alan Wongs at The Kahala staff photo 020526

<title>Alan Wong’s Kāhala restaurant is opening March 25</title>

Hoku’s at The Kāhala’s last dinner service is Feb. 20. Alan Wong’s Kāhala Hotel & Resort will open to the general public on April 8; guests who book The Kāhala Hotel & Resort’s Legacy of Aloha package can secure early access to experience the new restaurant.

Alan Wong’s Kāhala restaurant is opening March 25

Square Mike Brestovansky Headshot RGZ3736 Large

Michael Brestovansky

Crime & Courts

Beginning today, renters unable to pay rent will have more resources to avoid eviction.

 on Thursday a two-year pilot program that requires landlords to offer mediation to tenants who have not paid rent before filing eviction cases.

The program, called the Pre-Eviction Mediation Filing Program (PEMP), was established last year via statute, but follows up on a pair of eviction mediation programs from the past several years: the first established in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the second following the Lahaina wildfire.

, opens with a preamble stating that the Covid-era program was “widely successful in substantially increasing the number of disputes that were settled in mediation without any eviction cases being filed.” Mediation Centers of Hawaiʻi, an umbrella organization for the state’s five mediation centers, claims that the Covid-era program kept 90% of tenants who participated in the program housed.

Tracy Wiltgen, executive director for the Mediation Center of the Pacific — the sole mediation center on O‘ahu — told Aloha State Daily that the program benefits both landlords and tenants.

“The quicker landlords can start negotiating and talking with tenants, the better,” Wiltgen said, adding that eviction proceedings in court are typically going to put cash-strapped tenants “in a deeper hole,” with landlords less likely to receive their due rent.

And as for tenants, Wiltgen said the previous programs’ high rate of agreement suggests they will be more likely to remain living where they are.

However, the program does require landlords to follow specific procedures. If a tenant is in default, the landlord must submit written notice to the tenant at least 10 calendar days before beginning an eviction lawsuit, rather than the previous five days.

The written notice must inform the tenant of their right to mediation, along with contact information for the mediation center most convenient for the area. Pre-made notice forms tailored for each island are available 

Upon receiving that notice, the tenant has 10 days to schedule mediation. If they do, the landlord must wait an additional 10 days before filing the eviction lawsuit.

Wiltgen said she is not expecting a substantial upswing in mediation cases beyond the centers’ typical annual caseload; she said statewide, the mediation centers see about 100-150 cases per month. Even when these mediation programs were not in effect, eviction courts would often send cases to mediation anyway.

“There wasn’t really a huge flood of cases [after the state’s moratorium on rent-related evictions expired in 2021],” Wiltgen said. “These are cases that would have gone to court anyway; we’re just getting them sooner.”

That said, Wiltgen said some landlords expect more tenants will choose mediation when provided the option. She said landlords have warned that tenants who otherwise would have simply paid rent late might instead choose mediation to further postpone payments.

In any event, mediation is free for landlords and tenants under the program, with the 2025 law allocating a total of $2.5 million to the judiciary for the program’s two years. The state Civil Rights Commission 

 a typical mediation fee at about $50 per party or session, which theoretically would allow the program to support 50,000 mediation cases over the two years.

[{"type":"text","text":"The program expires Feb. 4, 2028."}]

Kaahumanu Hale 16x9

<title>Tenants facing eviction can seek mediation under new state program</title>

The Pre-Eviction Mediation Filing Program requires landlords to offer mediation before evicting a tenant for not paying rent

Tenants facing eviction can seek mediation under new state program

Daniel Farr 02

Daniel Farr

Soon, banana peels, coffee grounds and leftovers from thousands of Oʻahu residents will no longer head to the island’s waste stream.

Beginning April 1, the City and County of Honolulu will launch a pilot food scrap composting program allowing households in six communities to place food waste directly into their green compost carts. The Department of Environmental Services’ Green Recycling Organic Waste, or GROW, pilot will be available to residents in Waipahu, Nānākuli, Hawaiʻi Kai, Mililani, Kailua and Kalihi, who receive automated curbside collection services. City officials say the program is expected to expand islandwide later this year.

The initiative targets one of the largest contributors to Oʻahu’s waste stream. A City waste characterization study conducted in 2017 found organic material accounted for roughly 36% of all discarded waste with food waste alone making up about 20%, Henry Gabriel, Department of Environmental Services Recycling Program Branch Chief, told Aloha State Daily.

Composting food waste is part of the City’s broader strategy to reduce landfill use and move closer to its goal of diverting 95% of waste from landfills by 2030. Rather than focusing on a single neighborhood, the City selected six communities to capture a range of participation patterns and operational conditions. ENV will track participation rates, contamination levels, compost volume and diversion outcomes to guide resident education and potential expansion.

“I support ENV’s GROW Program as a strategy to reduce waste and move Oʻahu away from landfill dependency,” Councilwoman Andria Tupola, who recently introduced a 

 to create a new End Landfills Task Force, told ASD.

Operating the pilot is expected to cost between $15 million and $21 million annually depending on the amount of food and green waste collected. “The City has never operated a program that collects and composts food waste so we had to invest in the infrastructure to do that,” Gabriel said.

The composting system includes odor control measures and specialized processing equipment designed for food waste. Diverting scraps will reduce the amount of material sent to H-POWER and landfills but will not change how the City’s waste-to-energy plant operates. While all curbside garbage currently goes to H-POWER, waste can be diverted to the landfill if the facility is down or undergoing repairs. Ash from H-POWER is always taken to the landfill.

Because food waste has a higher moisture content than other trash, it requires more energy to process at waste-to-energy facilities. Composting helps conserve landfill space and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing food. Source reduction remains the top priority.

“Success would be a reduction of food waste discarded from residential homes participating in the pilot program,” Gabriel said.

Green bins, which are currently used for yard waste such as tree trimmings and weeds and turned into compost by Hawaiian Earth Recycling, will now also collect food scraps in the six pilot areas. Pickup frequency will remain every other week during the program.

To encourage participation and reduce contamination, ENV will host public workshops across Oʻahu in February and March including Feb. 19 at Koko Head Elementary School and Feb. 23 at Mililani High School, both beginning at 7 p.m. Residents are not required to freeze food scraps before placing them in green carts though the City recommends steps to manage odors and pests such as sprinkling baking soda on scraps.

Residents will also be able to drop off food scraps and wasted food at the Hawaiian Earth Recycling composting facility in Wahiawā at no charge beginning April 1, with a limit of two self‑drop‑off loads per day. Participation in the pilot is voluntary but City officials are encouraging households in the selected communities to join.

Screenshot 2026 02 02 at 2 06 18 PM 16x9

<title>Honolulu to pilot food scrap composting</title>

A City waste characterization study conducted found organic material accounted for roughly 36% of all discarded waste with food waste alone making up about 20%.

Hawai'i Skies: Last light

ASD Staff

More in Hawai'i Skies

Hawai‘i Skies: Paukaʻa sunrise

Hawai‘i Skies: Starting the day with my daughter

Hawai‘i Skies: A few minutes of peace

Hawai‘i Skies: Peeking over the horizon

Most read

Hawai'i Skies: Last light

Authors

ASD Staff

More in Hawai'i Skies

Hawai‘i Skies: Paukaʻa sunrise

Hawai‘i Skies: Starting the day with my daughter

Hawai‘i Skies: A few minutes of peace

Hawai‘i Skies: Peeking over the horizon

Most read