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Posted: Monday, November 19th, 2012 8:43 AM HST

Bids sought to turn solid waste into energy

By Associated Press

WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) — Maui County is looking for a company to convert the island's solid waste into energy. The Maui News says the goal is to cut down on the amount of trash that ends up in the central landfill. The plan calls for the Department of Environmental Management leasing approximately 10 acres of land next to the landfill to the company that gets the contract. That company would be required to finance, design, build and operate the project. In return, the county would make available all of its waste streams to the facility for 20 years. Those would include solid waste, green waste, sewage sludge and grease. At this time, only about 30 percent of the county's trash is diverted from landfills and either recycled or put to some other use.