Hawaii County will invest in additional biosecurity measures at a West Hawaii waste facility to prevent the spread of a devastating invasive beetle.
After adult specimens of the coconut rhinoceros beetle were discovered at the West Hawaii Sanitary Landfill in April, county and state authorities scrambled to make sure the facility wasn’t hiding more.
Department of Environmental Management Acting Recycling Coordinator Craig Kawaguchi told the Hawaii County Council Finance Committee on Tuesday that, after an early May investigation by DEM, the state Department of Agriculture and the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, the landfill is believed to be clear of additional beetle specimens.
However, to ensure that the landfill continues to be free of the pests, a council resolution would allocate $200,000 to DEM for further measures at the facility.
DEM Deputy Director Brenda Iokepa-Moses said the allocation was already in the pipeline before the adult specimens were detected — beetle larvae had previously been detected for the first time in Waikoloa last October.
The invasive pests were first discovered on Oahu in 2013 and have become thoroughly embedded on that island. The adults burrow into the spears of growing palm trees, but can take months before their presence is known — only as the growing trees’ leaves unfurl is the damage obvious.
Kawaguchi said some of the funds would be used for detector dogs — canines can be trained to detect the beetles by scent — and additional traps around the facility, but added that the focus of the money would be on public outreach.
“I don’t think people really know the effects of this beetle,” Kawaguchi said. “Because it’s not only the coconut palms (that it destroys), it’s the papayas … it’s everything.”
In addition, Kawaguchi said the facility will conduct additional processing of green waste to ensure it is not harboring any beetles or larvae. That process will include mulching the waste into windrows and turning it five times over the course of 15 days, maintaining temperatures of 131 degrees, which he said would sufficient to kill the pests.
Iokepa-Moses said DEM hopes to encourage residents to dispose of green waste through the county so that the waste — a major vector for the spread of the beetle — is properly treated.
“Unfortunately … the public needs to understand that, until it’s been mulched and until it’s been sitting for 15 days — it’s a special process, you can’t do it at home,” Iokepa-Moses said.
Iokepa-Moses said she anticipates additional green waste being sent to the West Hawaii facility because of this additional processing, which will, in itself, require that some of the funding be used for additional truck drivers to transport the excess processed green waste back to East Hawaii.
“Some people think it’s an easy task for us to take the empty trucks that are going to the east side anyway,” Iokepa-Moses said. “But our drivers have to make three trips around the island a day, and that’s without any unseen traffic jams. When we add trucking back mulch, now we’re down to two trips a day.”
The Finance Committee voted unanimously to forward the allocation with a favorable recommendation to the full council.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
