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While the free County mulch is again available, they are limiting commercial vehicles to 10 yards per day. This effectively increases the cost for mulch delivery 2-3 times what it was previously. It makes even the small scale farming I'm doing not really feasible. I got several loads per year and after years of this I finally made a small profit in 2016, equivalent to $1 per hour for my work over the year. This will put me back in the red. My mulch costs will go from 2-3K to 4-6K per year! Also, the increase is much higher for those of us living further away from Hilo because delivery fees are much higher for a 70 vs. 5 mile round trip.
Just spoke with someone in Environmental Management at the County. They confirmed this is true. Send a general email to
cohdem@hawaiicounty.gov and/or to the division Chief Greg Goodale
ggoodale@hawaiicounty.gov. Please contact them and your councilperson if you are not happy with this change.
http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/dem-solidwaste-division
808-961-8270
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I have conflicting feelings about this, when I went last Friday their "hotline" said they had 30 yards but of course it was all gone when I got there in the morning with my pickup truck. If they need to ration the mulch in this manner so that more people will have access to it I can see the benefit.
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the increase is much higher for those of us living further away from Hilo
The new compost facility will be much further away, and the compost won't be free.
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-ne...-agreement
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"The county will continue with its current mulching projects at Kealakehe and the two county landfills under the new contract....
Mulch is basically ground-up green waste, while compost is the decomposed product after food waste is added to green waste. A fertilizer and soil amendment, compost done correctly is free of insects and other invasive pests...
Under the terms of the 10-year composting contract, the county will pay $10.4 million for the construction of the facility, and pay a tipping fee for organic waste delivered to the facility, with the contractor able to sell both the mulch and the resulting compost to the public."
So Kona folks will be able to buy premium compost from a $10.4 million facility while we can continue slumming with our free inferior "mulch" from the dump. I'm okay with that.
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Here's something else:
Mulch Quantity & Loading Restrictions at EHOF
To ensure a more equitable distribution of enhanced mulch to the public the Solid Waste Division imposes the following limitations on the amount of enhanced mulch that each customer will be allowed to receive and the availability of assisted mechanical loading at EHOF.
All customers will be limited to only one assisted mechanical load per day.
Assisted mechanical loading will be limited to a maximum quantity of 10 cubic yards per load.
Commercial customers are restricted to assisted mechanical loading only, commercial customers will not be allowed to self-load mulch.
Residential self-load customers will be allowed to load an unrestricted amount at the self-load pile.
All loads at EHOF continue to be required to be weighed on the SWD Scale.
http://www.hawaiizerowaste.org/recycle/greenwaste/
Also, I learned this today: the mulch pickup area has moved, and it is not well marked. it's further down the road and downhill.
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quote:
Originally posted by terracore
"The county will continue with its current mulching projects at Kealakehe and the two county landfills under the new contract....
Mulch is basically ground-up green waste, while compost is the decomposed product after food waste is added to green waste. A fertilizer and soil amendment, compost done correctly is free of insects and other invasive pests...
Under the terms of the 10-year composting contract, the county will pay $10.4 million for the construction of the facility, and pay a tipping fee for organic waste delivered to the facility, with the contractor able to sell both the mulch and the resulting compost to the public."
So Kona folks will be able to buy premium compost from a $10.4 million facility while we can continue slumming with our free inferior "mulch" from the dump. I'm okay with that.
Is that certain that they'll continue offering the regular mulch out of Hilo at some point? That would be great.
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The gist I got is that they will still be offering the regular mulch out of Hilo. The "enhanced mulch" doesn't stink as bad as the "old mulch".
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Got a response from the Director of the Department of Environmental Management. He gave no indication that the old style mulch will be available.
Apparently chipped pallets are still available without a load restriction. They make pretty good wood chips for landscaping and mulching and take longer to break down than either of the mulch types.
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I was told by my guy that wood chips were limited to 10 yards a day too. Let me know if you find someone that will deliver more, or a good price for the 10!
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"He gave no indication that the old style mulch will be available. "
I didn't do a good job of replying to robguz's post. I meant "enhanced mulch" will still be offered in Hilo, as opposed to the compost offered from Kona. I think the enhanced mulch exists to combat the spread of ROD.
