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The City and County of Honolulu has launched its “Include the Food” pilot, expanding its existing green waste collection program to accept residential food scraps as part of a broader push to reduce landfill disposal and recover more organic material.
Beginning April 1, residents participating in the city’s G.R.O.W. (Green Recycling Organic Waste) pilot program can add food scraps directly into their bins alongside yard trimmings. The pilot is designed to test whether co-collection can increase diversion without requiring new routes or major changes to the city’s existing system.
The approach builds on Honolulu’s established green waste recycling infrastructure, using current collection schedules and processing pathways to handle the additional material. By avoiding a separate food scraps program, the city is aiming to lower costs while making participation easier for households.
Education and outreach are central to the rollout. Residents are being asked to keep food scraps loose or wrapped in paper and avoid plastic contamination. City officials have emphasized that material quality will be closely monitored throughout the pilot as food waste is introduced into the stream.
Processing will be handled by Hawaiian Earth Recycling, the city’s contractor, which already manages green waste from the program. The addition of food scraps introduces new operational considerations, including increased moisture and the potential for contamination, both of which will be evaluated during the pilot phase.
Henry Gabriel, Honolulu’s Recycling Branch Chief with the Department of Environmental Services, framed the effort as part of a broader shift toward circular systems. “We can deliver [organic waste] to our city contractor, Hawaiian Earth Recycling. They turn it back into compost, and it’s just full circle,” he said. “We will buy compost and grow things with it. Now we’re talking about a circular economy.”
That closed-loop framing is central to how the city is positioning the program. By connecting collection, processing, and end use, Honolulu is testing whether food scraps can be reintegrated into local soils through existing partnerships rather than building new infrastructure from scratch.
The pilot will help the city assess participation, contamination levels, and processing performance before determining whether to expand the program. Early results will be closely watched, particularly as other municipalities consider co-collection as a pathway to scale food waste diversion within existing systems.
