Save the Windward Zero Waste School Hui

On Oahu's Windward side, 2,167 students participate every day in an award-winning and nationally-acclaimed zero waste school program that is now in jeopardy. A questionable Hawaii DOE funding choice has put our Windward Zero Waste School Hui AT RISK, diverting $285,000 in legislature-appropriated funding to an engineering firm to assist in the framework of a pilot program instead of supporting the flourishing one in progress. Shame! This has left the program under considerable financial strain. If funding isn’t secured quickly, the program will be forced to close several of the school programs, impacting hundreds and potentially thousands of students. We the community cannot let this happen.

The Windward Zero Waste School Hui, lead by Resource Recovery Specialist Mindy Jaffe, needs $6,000 a month to keep the program running at all five schools on a skeleton budget. It's unknown if Rep Chris Lee and the DOE will find a way to route the funds as intended. For now, we are looking to sustain the program through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. This requires $48,000, which will be used to support the 15 trained staff members who manage all organic processing daily, and educate the next generation of environmental leaders. 

THANK YOU to the anonymous donors who have already funded the program for August and September, donating over $10,000! Your community thanks you!

The Windward Zero Waste Hui is a living system that delivers educational value to over 2,000 students daily, at Ka'ohao, Ka'elepulu, Kainalu and Enchanted Lake Elementary schools as well as Kailua Intermediate School. Using hot compost and green waste piles, worms and cardboard and paper management, the Hui has reduced school trash by over 90%. In fact, 33 TONS of waste has been diverted from Oahu landfills in 2019 so far. Check out Zero Waste School Hui  for stats on food recovery, composting and worm feeding. Mindy and the team publish daily!

In 2019, the Hui has proudly made $10,950 by selling compost, vermicast and extra worms. The Zero Waste program should be sustained and publicly funded, falling well within the DOE waste management budget.

Want to know more about the $285,000?
This Program Diverted Tons of Trash from Landfills. Now It Might End. 

If you would like to donate, please click the Donate Now button, or the donate button at Zero Waste - Donate!  If you have a special set of skills or time you'd like to donate to the program, please also reach out.

The Windward Zero Waste Initiative is a non-profit program of  the Oahu Resource Conservation and Development Council, a 501(c)(3) organization.  EIN 94-3279682

Other Resources




This page was made by Friends of Mindy Jaffe and the Windward School Zero Waste Hui.