Continuing the Legacy: Zero Waste

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:

1) Donate today so we can pay our Resource Recovery Specialists, a dedicated resiliency workforce that produces results every day. Your donation is fully tax-deductible.

2) Contact your elected officials and let them know as voters, taxpayers, and concerned citizens you want to see much more attention and support for Resource Recovery as an alternative to disposal, especially at our public schools.

More information about Oahu Resource Conservation & Development: The Oahu Resource Conservation & Development Council is an independent non-profit entity that works to improve the quality of life in the communities we serve. While our mission and mandate are broad, recent work has focused on assisting rural enterprises and farmers, while fostering education and adoption of sound conservation practices on rural lands. Several current projects engage farmers in imperiled watersheds, supporting their efforts to reduce soil erosion and water loss.