Oahu Resource Conservation & Development

Resource Recovery ROCKS this ROCK!

Windward Zero Waste Schools need your support now more than ever.

The Windward Zero Waste School Hui (WZWSH) – the PRIDE of the WINDWARD SIDE – has recently suffered a devastating setback! The Hawaii State Department of Education has shut down our flagship campus, Kainalu Elementary School, due to a neighbor complaint.

WZWSH has been successfully operating at Kainalu since 2017, serving 535 children daily. The school generates on average 22 tons of food waste annually, every morsel of which is recovered and expertly processed right on the school campus using proven safe, natural techniques.

Since 2014, when the Windward Zero Waste School Hui put down roots at Ka’ohao School, over 310 TONS of food waste have been diverted from the waste stream to create the nutrient-rich compost that nourishes school gardens, landscapes, and lawns. Surplus compost is sold to the public – gardeners and farmers throughout Oahu – raising tens of thousands of dollars for the participating schools. Our compost is legendary for its quality!

Students at all grade levels participate fully, daily sorting their lunch leftovers, assisting with operations, and learning the science behind the process. These young Zero Heroes proudly see themselves as agents of change, working with nature to recycle nutrients, and helping the earth by regarding “waste” as a valuable resource.

On February 2nd, we were forced to pull the plug on our beloved Kainalu Elementary program, and there was nothing we could do about it. Kids – confused, some crying – dumped their milk, plate, and everything on it into a rubbish can – and sixteen full, dripping, stinky plastic bags went into the dumpster for transport and incineration.

The staff of WZWSH, the Kainalu administration, faculty, custodians, parents, students and community members are brokenhearted, disgusted, crushed, appalled, and very angry. But we will not let this bump in the road discourage us from fighting for what is right.

In most states, food in the waste stream is strictly prohibited. Over the past 18 years, we have developed a celebrated, award-winning organic waste program that promotes environmental restoration, sustainable farming, and climate change mitigation and generates a multitude of measurable, positive benefits that directly affect thousands of people, starting with our keiki.

Please help us continue our mission. You can support us in two ways:

$30,000 IN 30 DAYS CAMPAIGN. Windward Zero Waste School Hui has been offered a challenge by the Joseph and Debra Weinberg Family Foundation to raise $15,000 in 30 days, and the foundation will match it dollar for dollar. This potential total of $30,000 will fund the program through November. The campaign begins on August 1 and runs through August 31, 2022. Any money donated up to $15,000 will be doubled! This money will allow the Hui to continue its great work of diverting 60 tons of school food waste annually from the waste stream, increasing soil fertility, sequestering carbon, and educating children.

The Windward Zero Waste School Hui is a living system that educates students about sustainability at Ka’ohao, Ka’elepulu, Kainalu and Enchanted Lake Elementary and Kailua Intermediate Schools. Using hot compost, green waste piles, worms, and cardboard and paper management, the Hui has reduced school trash by over 90%. In fact, 57.8 TONS of waste have been diverted from Oahu landfills in 2021. Check out Zero Waste School Hui for food recovery, composting and vermicomposting stats. Mindy and the team publish daily!

This award-winning, nationally-acclaimed zero waste program, a partnership of Windward Oahu schools working cooperatively in the pursuit of waste reduction, soil restoration, and applied environmental education, is at risk of shutting down due to a shortage of funding. Our fundraising goal to sustain the program through the end of the 2021-2022 school year is $50,000, which will support the trained staff members who manage all organic processing daily and educate the next generation of environmental leaders.

Over 2,000 students participate every school day, contributing food waste to composting systems that turn the material into rich, organic compost sold to the community, with all income going back to participating schools to fund sustainability and education programs.