Waipio Soccer Fields Will Not Be The Next City Landfill
The Navy, which controls that land, decided to not allow the city to build a new landfill there.
Waipio Soccer Complex, previously the frontrunner for Honolulu’s next landfill, is now out of the running after the U.S. Navy nixed it.
The Navy controls the land at Waipio peninsula, which juts into Pearl Harbor across from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. It spent nine months evaluating how the city’s landfill proposal could affect its operations before ultimately saying no, the city announced in a press release Tuesday.
It’s another setback for the city’s effort to site a new landfill, which it was originally required to do by the end of 2022 before requesting an extension to the end of 2024. The Planning Commission is expected to approve that request.
Currently, Honolulu’s only municipal landfill is at Waimanalo Gulch near Ko Olina. That site opened in 1989 and is set to close in 2028.
With few viable options, the city has been scouring the island for new places to put a landfill.
State law forbids a landfill within a half mile of schools, homes or hospitals. Conservation lands are also off the table.
That leaves only federal land like Waipio peninsula, according to the press release. Now the city intends to explore amending state law. It also plans to consult with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to talk about how it could best construct a landfill that doesn’t contaminate the island’s water supply.
