Honolulu City Councilmember Andria Tupola has introduced a resolution to create a new End Landfills Task Force to explore how Oʻahu could eventually reduce, and potentially eliminate, its reliance on landfills. The island faces limited disposal capacity and mounting pressure to address long‑term environmental and fiscal challenges, she says.
Resolution 26‑7, filed this week, directs the task force to evaluate the feasibility, costs, risks and implementation pathways for reducing landfill dependence. Under the resolution, the advisory body must submit a final written report to the City Council within 365 days of adoption.
According to recent Department of Environmental Services data, Oʻahu generated roughly 1.69 million tons of total waste in 2023, of which 585,672 tons went to Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill, the island’s only municipal landfill. This includes a mix of municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste and the residual materials left over after H-POWER burned 490,864 tons of waste. The rest was diverted to recycling.
Tupola, who represents District 1, told Aloha State Daily the resolution frames “ending landfill dependency” not as an immediate shutdown of facilities, but as a shift away from treating landfills as the primary solution for managing waste. She described landfills as a symptom of systems that fail to fully capture the value of discarded materials.
“Ending landfill dependency means getting Oʻahu to a point where landfills are no longer the default solution for managing waste,” Tupola told ASD. “Landfills exist largely because we have not fully built systems that treat waste as a resource.”
The task force’s success, she said, would be measured by its ability to identify practical strategies to reduce, divert, and convert waste using proven and innovative methods. According to Tupola, the work would require coordination across recycling, energy recovery, wastewater treatment and private industry to gradually phase out reliance on landfills. Potential strategies could include expanded recycling, composting, energy recovery and other emerging technologies, she said.
The task force would analyze current Oʻahu landfill data, including the Waimānalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill. State land‑use approvals require Waimānalo to close by March 2028, even though diversion efforts have extended its usable capacity.
The Department of Environmental Services said Honolulu diverts roughly 80% of its municipal solid waste from the landfill each year through H‑POWER, recycling, and composting programs. “ENV continues island‑wide recycling, green waste collection, and composting, and H‑POWER significantly reduces the volume of waste reaching the landfill. This April, we’re launching the G.R.O.W. pilot program to accept food scraps for composting in six neighborhoods, targeting more than 60,000 tons of food waste annually. At the same time, landfills remain necessary for emergencies and materials that can’t be reduced, reused, or recycled. ENV is focused on responsibly managing existing facilities while exploring solutions that support a more sustainable future for Honolulu,” a spokesperson told ASD.
The resolution does not assign a price tag or endorse a specific technology. Instead, the task force would examine financial scenarios including capital investments, long‑term operating costs and the fiscal impact of continuing landfill use or developing new facilities. Tupola said the goal is to identify smart, forward‑looking investments that reduce taxpayer costs while improving environmental outcomes.
Environmental protection, fiscal responsibility, and workforce impacts are embedded in the task force’s mandate, according to the resolution. Labor representation is included to ensure worker impacts are addressed alongside technical and financial considerations.
“This effort is not about pursuing innovation at any cost,” Tupola told ASD. “It is about identifying solutions that are practical, affordable, and responsible for both workers and the community.”
If approved, the task force would include representatives from the City Council, the Mayor’s Office, the Department of Environmental Services, labor organizations, recycling and energy sectors, state leadership, and H‑POWER’s operator. Members would serve without compensation and function strictly in an advisory capacity. The task force is designed to provide the Council and public with information and options; it will not itself implement policy.
Once the final report is submitted, the City Council would review recommendations through its regular committee and legislative process. Any policy or operational changes would require additional Council action and coordination with the mayor’s administration.
“The Task Force itself does not set policy,” Tupola said. “Its role is to provide the Council and the public with clear, well‑informed options so future decisions are transparent, deliberate and accountable.”
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
