Media Release:
The County of Hawai`i Department of Environmental Management is seeking Hawai`i County Council approval to purchase a D8 bulldozer for use at the Hilo landfill. The new bulldozer would take the place of equipment the county now rents from a private company.
A resolution requesting authorization to buy the bulldozer under a five-year lease-to-own arrangement was submitted to the Hawai`i County Council on December 6.
The new bulldozer is needed to comply with state Department of Health regulations that demand that the county have sufficient equipment to properly manage solid waste at the Hilo and Pu`uanahulu landfills.
The County now owns or has access to four bulldozers at the landfills, with two available for the Hilo operation and two available at Pu`uanahulu. However, this equipment is operated for long hours under hazardous and demanding conditions, and equipment failures are common. As a result, the bulldozers that are available to the county at the two landfills are often sidelined for significant periods of time awaiting repairs.
When additional equipment is needed to maintain operations at one of the landfills, the county rents a bulldozer. The purchase of a new bulldozer would eliminate the long-term need for a bulldozer rental contract.
If the Council authorizes the purchase, county officials estimate the new bulldozer will cost approximately $800,000, and will be delivered sometime in the next year.
Filed under: Announcements, Big Island, County Council, Economy, Environment, Politics, Something New?, State Affairs Tagged: | Environment, Hilo Hawaii, Landfill, Municipal solid waste, Waste Management
