Indiegogo is committed to accessibility. If you have difficulty using our site, please contact support@indiegogo.com for assistance or view our accessibility notice by clicking here

This campaign is closed

Zero Waste & Recycle Hawai'i

Fund zero waste & composting programs for Hawaii Island schools, neighborhoods & organizations.

You may also be interested in

Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed
Closed

Zero Waste & Recycle Hawai'i

Zero Waste & Recycle Hawai'i

Zero Waste & Recycle Hawai'i

Zero Waste & Recycle Hawai'i

Zero Waste & Recycle Hawai'i

Fund zero waste & composting programs for Hawaii Island schools, neighborhoods & organizations.

Fund zero waste & composting programs for Hawaii Island schools, neighborhoods & organizations.

Fund zero waste & composting programs for Hawaii Island schools, neighborhoods & organizations.

Fund zero waste & composting programs for Hawaii Island schools, neighborhoods & organizations.

Paul Buklarewicz
Paul Buklarewicz
Paul Buklarewicz
Paul Buklarewicz
1 Campaign |
Hilo, United States
$1,000 USD 11 backers
1% of $60,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal
Choose your Perk

OUR STORY

In 1989, a group of young, idealistic newcomers to Hawai'i, frustrated over the lack of recycling services in the islands, set out to change things by literally taking matters into their own hands. They used a number of tactics, one of which was to divert plastic, paper and tin cans going into county trash roll-offs to the back of their parked cars instead.  Nearly a quarter of a century later, the 501(c)3 educational non-profit they formed in 1992 has become RECYCLE HAWAI'I  the state's premier recycling organization, with 19 fulltime employees providing a range of recycling and related educational services, including the operation of six re-use centers across Hawai'i Island. 



While the development of the organization has been largely funded by contracts with the Hawai'i County Department of Environmental Management, the recent loss of one of those contracts, worth $100,000, has brought our zero waste outreach and education programs to a screeching halt, compelling us to launch this fundraising campaign. 

We seek to raise $60,000, with all contributions going directly towards continuing our outreach education programs.  The funds will be allocated as follows:


$10,000 for Zero Waste School Presentations to students and teachers K─12,

$10,000 to hold our 10th Annual Art of Recycling School Competition, an islandwide exhibit of art made from recycled materials by K─12 students,

$25,000 to continue our Composting is Recycling, Too! education workshops offered monthly throughout Hawai’i Island,

$15,000 for these additional outreach efforts:

● The Recycling InfoLines, a 24/7 answering service for the east and west sides of Hawai'i Island where callers can get answers to their recycling questions,

● The Hawai’i Island Recycling Guide, a complete listing of local recycling services, updated regularly, widely distributed & available on our website,

● The Recycle Hawai’i website upgrade, to better provide recycling & educational resources, news, articles and notice of events,

Zero Waste community event support & training.


The above list is ordered by priority, funding below our goal will be allocated accordingly. Extra funds will be used to continue programs into the next fiscal year.  All funds raised can also serve as matching funds to garner grants.


OUR IMPACT

Over the nine years we have been holding the annual Art of Recycling Contest, Recycle Hawai’i has attracted 4,500 participants with 1,650 of them student artists. This program encourages everyone involved to appreciate the inherent value of commonly discarded items as a means to promote ingenuity and respect for resources.  Art entries go on display in the community where they were created and this additional exposure spreads the important message to the students’ peers and mentors.  For many of the students involved, the competition is a formative experience that allows them to re-imagine the wasteful practices they are exposed to on a regular basis.

Since its inception in 2004, our “Composting is Recycling, Too!” program has brought experts in the recovery of discarded organic materials into communities islandwide where they have presented 262 home composting and vermiculture workshops, teaching participants how to turn food scraps, food contaminated paper and yard trimmings into valuable soil amendments.  While most view Hawai’i as a lush Paradise, the truth is our soils are poor in the organic matter needed to produce food crops. Capturing this resource, diverting it from the landfill and turning it into soil provides a valuable service to humankind and Mother Earth. During the course of our program, a total of 4,050 Earth Machines were distributed to schools and households where they were used to contain organic materials during the composting process, with each system providing the potential to divert up to 10 tons of organic matter over its 10-year life. This amounts to 405,000 tons of materials diverted from the landfill by the units already in service. Based on the cost to purchase and distribute these systems, the cost of processing these materials is $5.50 per ton, a $79.50 savings per ton on what it costs our local government to landfill. 

By comparison, our Zero Waste Initiative is a relatively new program, active for only three years, but quickly becoming one of our most important public offerings. Through this hands-on outreach effort, volunteers install and manage sort stations that protect the value of discarded items at a variety of community happenings and organizers collaborate with attendees to create a waste-free event. Over the years we’ve been using this diversion method, we’ve achieved an average 90% diversion rate. . . much to the amazement and delight of all involved.

OUR REQUEST

Please note that we consider no donation too small and all amounts are greatly appreciated.  If you are not in a position to make a monetary contribution, we appreciate any effort you make to spread the word about our campaign by using the Indiegogo share tools and other social media applications at your command.  We are also open to help from professionals familiar with website development and fundraising activities other than online crowdsourcing.

To have more of your donation go towards our programs, contribute by:

MAIL – Check payable to: Recycle Hawaii, PO Box 4847, Hilo, HI  96720 or WEBSITE http://www.recyclehawaii.org/memberdonate.html


Mahalo nui loa – Thank you very much!  Your support makes a huge difference.


Looking for more information? Check the project FAQ
Need more information
Let us know if you think this campaign contains prohibited content.

You may also be interested in

Up Caret