Solid Waste Management Lessons from Kauai, Hawaii
Lessons Learnt
Allison Fraley, Kauai County’s Solid Waste Management Coordinator, came to the Virgin Islands to assist us in our continued challenge to manage our solid waste.
Allison’s efforts have helped to significantly increase Kauai’s waste diversion rate, which is currently at 43 %, 8% higher than the national average.
Ms. Fraley was successful in advocating for the hiring of more staff to develop, contract, monitor and educate about waste diversion programs.
Ms. Fraley’s interest in recycling and solid waste diversion started in college and turned into a full-fledged career in 1994, where she started working at Ecology Action, a non-profit in Santa Cruz, California. She worked there for six years before moving to Kauai in 2000, becoming the county’s first paid staffer focusing on recycling. Ms. Fraley has since moved on to her current position within the Solid Waste Division, assisting with oversight of all areas of solid waste management on Kauai.
Ms. Fraley’s visit was possible through a solid waste management grant awarded to the Coral Bay Community Council from the US Department of Agriculture. Her presentations and discussions were co-hosted by VI Waste Management Authority, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources-Coastal Zone Management, Island Green, E.A.S.T., Virgin Islands Conservation Society, Plastic Free Island: St. John, Antilles School, and the University of the Virgin Islands.