SHIPPING OUT HAWAII GARBAGE WOULD BE AN IMMORAL ACTION

I had to laugh when I read Mike Gabbard's proposal for shipping Hawaii's garbage to the mainland.  My first thought was: I'm glad he's concerned about disposing of all those "Mike Gabbard for Congress" campaign signs.

Seriously, I applaud Gabbard’s stand against building Hawaii landfills over aquifers.  I couldn't agree more that we need “solutions that include diverting and eliminating a majority of the volume from our waste stream through enhanced recycling efforts, composting, and common sense product packaging.”  However, I cannot support his interim proposal to ship our garbage to the mainland.

The “Ship It Out” proposal is the ultimate in NIMBY (not-in-my-back-yard) thinking.  No matter where we send our garbage, it will even eventually percolate into the water table.  Jeopardizing water quality on the mainland to protect Hawaii water is selfish and immoral.  Reducing and recycling our waste are the only responsible choices.

Further, Gabbard's proposal involves shipping local dollars out of state along with our garbage to pay for freight and tipping fees.  I would rather see those dollars stay here to support local jobs in the recycling and waste management industries.

Gabbard hit the nail on the head when he said that Hawaii is uniquely situated to lead the way in implementing modern technology to deal with the ever-increasing amount of trash.  I see no reason to wait.  Let’s begin supporting local diversion technology immediately.

Camille Armantrout

Makawao

June 25, 2004