Please do NOT approve the pyrolysis of Lāhainā fire debris without confirming what pyrolysis temperatures will be. Pyrolysis at the wrong temperature leads to the volatilization of heavy metals (this upper limit temperature varies depending on which heavy metal, and our debris has a variety of metals and metalites in it). This is well-documented and extremely dangerous.
(See here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7831513/#:~:text=It%20is%20known%20that%20Cd,heavy%20metals%20Cd%20and%20Pb.)
Also, please consider that the person proposing these solutions was told by an "algorithm" that Hawai'i is the place that needs her "solutions for humanity" the most, and this is what caused her to move to Hawai'i island a few years ago and begin to ingratiate herself to elders in the native Hawaiian community there. Not only is this the exact same "savior" thinking that brought the missionary colonizers to this island that caused many of the systemic problems we are currently grappling with, but she does not have ANY experience working with wildfire/toxic debris or landfills/disposal sites on Earth and has not successfully built or run ANY of the terrestrial facilities she is taking about designing for Maui. She can not produce any evidence, or point to any direct, practical experience, just websites full of very outrageous claims.
Testimony on (DRIP-2(14)) ALTERNATIVE 2023 WILDFIRE DEBRIS PROCESSING SOLUTIONS
From: Tamara Farnsworth (on my own behalf)
January 10, 2023
Aloha e Chair Paltin and Members of the D.R.I.P. Committee,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on Agenda Item DRIP-2(14).
I worked for fifteen years in municipal solid waste management, including ten with the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management from 2013 through July of 2023. The Environmental Protection & Sustainability Division was responsible for various environmental protection initiatives including landfill diversion recycling programs, household hazardous waste programming, and recycling of abandoned vehicles, metals, and electronics, as well as disaster debris management and recycling in support of the Solid Waste Division. Our offices evaluated several pyrolysis and gasification proposals during my tenure. While the technologies appear promising, the County has not yet been able to come to any viable agreements with any vendor who has approached the County.
I am still encouraged by the climate-friendly prospects of using our island’s waste as a resource presented by these emerging technologies and would like to see the county partner with a vendor on a successful modular pilot project in the future. However, I do have concerns about the use of pyrolysis as a feasible solution for our ash and debris in Lahaina and I have some questions that I hope can clarify some technical, logistical, operational, and budgetary issues:
1. My understanding is that pyrolysis is a technology where feedstock determines outputs; or simply, what you put in affects what come out. What are the specific outputs that can be expected from the sole feedstock of ash and debris?
2. Can you use already combusted materials for an output other than ash?
3. Will the process of pyrolysis using Lahaina’s ash and debris produce a safe, useable biochar for agriculture or other purposes? A useable concrete aggregate? Another useable product?
4. Will any additional feedstock, such as carbon containing materials like mulch made from woody materials or something else, be required to process the ash and debris? If so, what is the ratio of supplementary materials to ash?
5. Will the process of pyrolysis render the 5 known heavy metals contained within the ash, or any other contaminants like dioxins or PCB’s, totally inert? Or does the technology have the ability to separate those toxins from the ash, removing them for safe disposal, so that the remaining output is useable? Or are the metals/toxins that remain mixed with the ash aggregate that is to be used for the concrete and so considered to be inert when binded within the concrete?
6. What does safe separation and disposal of toxins look like? Would the technology require scrubbers or a similar type of mitigative effort to capture emissions of toxins? Is there any resultant residue and how is it disposed of?
7. What type of land use zoning is required for this technology? Are you aware of a properly zoned site on Maui with the 100-acre footprint that has been mentioned? If so, where and what is its proximity to the Central Maui Landfill?
8. Please list the regulatory permits required for this technology and how long is the typical process for obtaining these permits?
9. What is your timeline for getting completely online and operational?
10. Where else in the U.S. is pyrolysis being used at scale and what is the feedstock? If so, what is the daily input and output?
11. What are the start-up costs?
12. What is the initial capital investment by county, state, or federal taxpayers for this project? If none, will the county be charged a tipping fee for ash/debris and MSW (municipal solid waste) once operational? If so, what are the estimated cost per ton tipping fees?
As a proponent of Zero Waste principles and practices, I ask these questions in earnest as I worked hard in my career to move the county toward overall waste reduction, reuse, and sustainable alternatives to landfiling our waste. I would be pleased if the claims of Yummet and others who propose this technology work as a viable solution for the ash and debris in Lahaina as well as for the future of Maui’s waste management. I would also like to ensure that the county pursues realistic, cost-effective, culturally-sensitive, and sustainable solutions for the disaster debris challenges we face at this moment.
Please do NOT approve the pyrolysis of Lāhainā fire debris without confirming what pyrolysis temperatures will be. Pyrolysis at the wrong temperature leads to the volatilization of heavy metals (this upper limit temperature varies depending on which heavy metal, and our debris has a variety of metals and metalites in it). This is well-documented and extremely dangerous.
(See here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7831513/#:~:text=It%20is%20known%20that%20Cd,heavy%20metals%20Cd%20and%20Pb.)
Also, please consider that the person proposing these solutions was told by an "algorithm" that Hawai'i is the place that needs her "solutions for humanity" the most, and this is what caused her to move to Hawai'i island a few years ago and begin to ingratiate herself to elders in the native Hawaiian community there. Not only is this the exact same "savior" thinking that brought the missionary colonizers to this island that caused many of the systemic problems we are currently grappling with, but she does not have ANY experience working with wildfire/toxic debris or landfills/disposal sites on Earth and has not successfully built or run ANY of the terrestrial facilities she is taking about designing for Maui. She can not produce any evidence, or point to any direct, practical experience, just websites full of very outrageous claims.
Testimony on (DRIP-2(14)) ALTERNATIVE 2023 WILDFIRE DEBRIS PROCESSING SOLUTIONS
From: Tamara Farnsworth (on my own behalf)
January 10, 2023
Aloha e Chair Paltin and Members of the D.R.I.P. Committee,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on Agenda Item DRIP-2(14).
I worked for fifteen years in municipal solid waste management, including ten with the County of Maui Department of Environmental Management from 2013 through July of 2023. The Environmental Protection & Sustainability Division was responsible for various environmental protection initiatives including landfill diversion recycling programs, household hazardous waste programming, and recycling of abandoned vehicles, metals, and electronics, as well as disaster debris management and recycling in support of the Solid Waste Division. Our offices evaluated several pyrolysis and gasification proposals during my tenure. While the technologies appear promising, the County has not yet been able to come to any viable agreements with any vendor who has approached the County.
I am still encouraged by the climate-friendly prospects of using our island’s waste as a resource presented by these emerging technologies and would like to see the county partner with a vendor on a successful modular pilot project in the future. However, I do have concerns about the use of pyrolysis as a feasible solution for our ash and debris in Lahaina and I have some questions that I hope can clarify some technical, logistical, operational, and budgetary issues:
1. My understanding is that pyrolysis is a technology where feedstock determines outputs; or simply, what you put in affects what come out. What are the specific outputs that can be expected from the sole feedstock of ash and debris?
2. Can you use already combusted materials for an output other than ash?
3. Will the process of pyrolysis using Lahaina’s ash and debris produce a safe, useable biochar for agriculture or other purposes? A useable concrete aggregate? Another useable product?
4. Will any additional feedstock, such as carbon containing materials like mulch made from woody materials or something else, be required to process the ash and debris? If so, what is the ratio of supplementary materials to ash?
5. Will the process of pyrolysis render the 5 known heavy metals contained within the ash, or any other contaminants like dioxins or PCB’s, totally inert? Or does the technology have the ability to separate those toxins from the ash, removing them for safe disposal, so that the remaining output is useable? Or are the metals/toxins that remain mixed with the ash aggregate that is to be used for the concrete and so considered to be inert when binded within the concrete?
6. What does safe separation and disposal of toxins look like? Would the technology require scrubbers or a similar type of mitigative effort to capture emissions of toxins? Is there any resultant residue and how is it disposed of?
7. What type of land use zoning is required for this technology? Are you aware of a properly zoned site on Maui with the 100-acre footprint that has been mentioned? If so, where and what is its proximity to the Central Maui Landfill?
8. Please list the regulatory permits required for this technology and how long is the typical process for obtaining these permits?
9. What is your timeline for getting completely online and operational?
10. Where else in the U.S. is pyrolysis being used at scale and what is the feedstock? If so, what is the daily input and output?
11. What are the start-up costs?
12. What is the initial capital investment by county, state, or federal taxpayers for this project? If none, will the county be charged a tipping fee for ash/debris and MSW (municipal solid waste) once operational? If so, what are the estimated cost per ton tipping fees?
As a proponent of Zero Waste principles and practices, I ask these questions in earnest as I worked hard in my career to move the county toward overall waste reduction, reuse, and sustainable alternatives to landfiling our waste. I would be pleased if the claims of Yummet and others who propose this technology work as a viable solution for the ash and debris in Lahaina as well as for the future of Maui’s waste management. I would also like to ensure that the county pursues realistic, cost-effective, culturally-sensitive, and sustainable solutions for the disaster debris challenges we face at this moment.
Mahalo nui,
Tamara Farnsworth