RECYCLING GREEN WASTES IN HAWAII

KONA CINDER & SPOILS, INC. IS A SMALL-BUSINESS INVOLVED IN THE AGRICULTURAL/LANDSCAPE SOIL BUSINESS IN KONA, WEST HAWAII (ON THE ISLAND OF HAWAII, 30 MINUTES BY AIR FROM HONOLULU). THE ISLAND OF HAWAII SUPPORTS AN AGRICULTURAL-BASED ECONOMY, RANKING FIRST IN MACADAMIA NUT AND COFFEE PRODUCTION IN THE U.S., AND FIRST IN LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN THE STATE. PROFITABLE, SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE IN WEST HAWAII IS LIMITED BY TWO COMPLIMENTARY FACTORS: THE LACK OF READILY AVAILABLE, HIGH QUALITY, LOW-INPUT FERTILZER, SUCH AS COMPOST; AND THE EXCESSS MANURE PRODUCED IN LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS WHICH INCREASES PROBLEMS OF GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION. CURRENTLY, THE BOTTLENECK FOR PRODUCERS OCCURS WHEN OBTAINING ADEQUATE AMOUNTS OF BOTH NITROGEN AND CARBON SOURCES FOR THE 30 TO 1 CARBON TO NITROGEN RATIO REQUIRED FOR MAXIMUM MICROBAL ACTIVITY IN COMPOSTS. THIS PROJECT WILL ADDRESS THE FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A COMPOSTING OPERATION AT KONA CINDER & SOILS, THUS ALLEVIATING THIS BOTTLENECK BY COORDINATING PICK-UP OF NITROGEN SOURCES FROM LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS TO THE GREEN WASTE SITE, AND DELIVERY OF FINISHED COMPOST FOR USE IN COFFEE AND MACADAMIA NUT ORCHARDS. SEVERAL PROTOTYPE COMPOSTING SYSTEMS (INCLUDING BIN AND WINDOW CONSTRUCTION), CONSISTING OF GREEN WASTE MATERIALS (INCLUDING YARD, LANDSCAPE AND FARM PRUNINGS) WITH CHICKEN OR PIG MANURE, WILL BE EVALUATED. THE ECONOMICS OF COORDINATING THESE RESOURCES WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THE PERSONNEL ON THIS PROJECT HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN PILOT-SCALE COMPOSTING OPERATIONS IN WEST HAWAII FOR SEVERAL YEARS, AND HAVE ATTAINED MUCH PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE IN ALL ASPECTS OF COMPOSTING GREEN WASTE, BUT SUPPORT FOR A LARGE-SCALE COMPOST OPERATION IS ESSENTIAL. THE REDUCTION OF AGROCHEMICAL INPUTS IN WEST HAWAII VIA MAXIMUM UTILIZATION OF ON-FARM RESOURCES, SUCH AS GREEN WASTE AND MANURES USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF COMPOST, SHOULD PROVE INCREASINGLY ECONOMICAL.