The Nanakuli-Maili Neighborhood Board will meet on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at the Nanaikapono Elementary School located at 89-153 Mano Avenue in Nanakuli. The board anticipates much discussion about a recycling business proposal. Hawaii Renewable Products, represented by Ross Auwae and his associates, is located on their property on Hakimo Road. They are requesting a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Major to collect and process kitchen grease from around the island to convert to boiler grade fuel on their property.
Auwae believes that this business will be able to “strengthen the agribusiness in the Waianae area, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, reduce and reuse waste materials, provide affordable biofuel and compost to local farms, and help preserve the Waianae country lifestyle.” Their plan starts by collecting kitchen grease island-wide with four large trucks and delivering it to the site where it will be composted and pasteurized into boiler grade fuel. Auwae added that they have been processing kitchen grease for many years and have the experience to proceed with the business safely and responsibly as becomes community members who were born and raised on the Waianae Coast.
At the board’s Planning and Zoning committee meeting in April, Auwae’s request for a CUP Major was met with numerous questions and concerns. There were the usual questions about the number of trucks and the traffic problems it may cause, odors and air pollution, and site security, but the zoning change it would require is the main concern. This activity is located in an agricultural zone and poses similar problems found with the Tropic Land LLC project. Neighbors on Hakimo Road expressed disappointment that this project is not located in an industrial zone, and they fear the road cannot accommodate the busy traffic which the business will create. Above all, they feel that more businesses in the future will try to establish activities which will take more lands away from agricultural use when they learn of the possibility to do so.
The Planning and Zoning committee will present its findings at the general meeting of the Nanakuli-Maili Neighborhood Board on June 18 at 7 P.M. The public is invited to attend and offer their opinions and concerns for consideration.
