In 2012, Honolulu added a third boiler to its trash plant; the garbage now supplies 7% of Oahu's electricity; here's how it works

Oahu is an island in Hawaii, which used to generate around 2.1 million tons of waste in 2020, according to a report by Spectrum News Hawaii. It faced a big problem about to dispose the waste. The island relies on H-POWER, which is a waste-to-energy facility. It burns garbage to generate electricity and reduce the volume to sent to landfill.

How Honolulu turned waste into electricity?

Honolulu reportedly expanded its H-POWER waste-to-energy plant in October 2012 by adding a third boiler. The cost of the project was around $302 million. The boiler was a big boost as the plant's ability to process rubbish and generate electricity increased. With it, the capacity to burn around 900 tons of waste per day increased.

The plan was to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and increase the electricity production from rubbish.


ALSO READ: In 2018, Columbia Ventures bought Jacksonville's historic Union Terminal Warehouse for $4.6 million; 7 years later, a $73 million overhaul transformed it into a mixed-use complex

According to the report, H-POWER converts municipal waste into electricity. It burns waste to produce heat, which turns water into steam.

The electricity is then supplied to Hawaiian Electric and distributed across Oahu. It reportedly contributes around 7% of Oahu's electricity supply.

The household and other municipal rubbish that can't be recycled is processed by H-POWER. Some of the waste is processed into refuse-derived fuel before it gets burned. It also recovers metals from waste for recycling.

Why does it matter?

Oahu faces a lot of pressure over its landfill capacity. It is also in search of a replacement landfill. The plant makes the job easy as it reduces the island's dependence on landfill disposal. But, the contribution of the plant is very limited due to its capacity and maintenance requirements.

ALSO READ: Meet Lauren McDuffie and Rachel Albers, cousins who launched a salad dressing startup; they made $2,500 in early sales and target $30,000 in revenue

Notably, the plant generates electricity for waste, but it does not eliminate the need for recycling, composting or landfills.

However, it is still very important, as it generates power, reduces the volume of rubbish sent to landfills and recovers metals for recycling. The island still faces challenges over landfill capacity.