Green Fee-funded hotel renovation reuse program

Hotel Renovation Reuse: Keeping Visitor-Industry Materials Out of Hawaiʻi’s Landfills

Establish a voluntary program, run through the Department of Health Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, that captures hotel renovation materials before they become waste and redistributes them to local homes, nonprofits, schools, and community spaces, funded by Green Fee support in FY28–29. Estimated budget: $640,540 over two years (about $320,270 per year).

Context given: Hawaiʻi's landfills are under avoidable strain from hospitality waste. Hotels renovate on a regular cycle and remove furniture, fixtures, and building materials that are often still in good condition, most of which goes to the landfill. The State's 2026 Statewide Waste Characterization Study found intact hotel and tourism items in the waste stream, finds that 84% of what goes into PVT could potentially be recycled, and recommends expanding reuse and building recovery infrastructure for construction and demolition materials. On Oʻahu, construction and demolition debris goes to PVT, which took in nearly 488,000 tons in FY2025, about 1,300 tons a day, and is expected to close. Waimānalo Gulch, the island's municipal landfill, has been ordered to close by March 2028. The burden falls hardest on the Waiʻanae Coast, where 11 of Oʻahu's 18 landfills, power plants, and sewage plants sit. The program directly supports the State's new waste reduction goals under Act 173 (SLH 2026): 40% less waste going to disposal by 2038 and 70% by 2043.

Track record cited: Re-use Hawaiʻi is the only deconstruction service provider in the State, salvaging nearly 80% of the materials from each building, with 20 years of experience including hotel projects on four islands:

• Ala Moana Hotel, Oʻahu: 1,166 rooms, 224.60 tons diverted

• Princeville Resort, Kauaʻi: 251 rooms, 144.60 tons diverted

• Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Hawaiʻi Island: 283 rooms, 85.05 tons diverted

• Fairmont Orchid, Hawaiʻi Island: 944 rooms, 32.17 tons diverted

• Royal Lahaina, Maui: 22 bungalows, with materials given directly to Lahaina fire survivors

That is more than 486 tons kept out of landfills from these projects alone.

Need for Green Fee support: a single hotel room holds about 500 pounds of furniture (dresser, nightstands, table, chairs, mattress, bed frame, lamps, and art). Today, reuse happens one project at a time, only when a hotel chooses to pay for it; most renovations still go straight to the landfill because disposal is often faster and cheaper and is the default, and some hotels prefer to throw items away rather than see their furniture out in the community. Green Fee support would cover planning, crews, storage, and redistribution so reuse becomes the easy choice. Without this support, an estimated 184 tons of usable materials from at least 1,000 hotel rooms will go to the landfill over the next two years.

Program commitments with Green Fee support in FY28–29:

• Partner with hotels statewide to reuse materials from at least 500 rooms a year, with trained crews removing materials on site.

• Redistribute furniture and materials at low or no cost to residents, nonprofits, and communities in need, with priority for the Waiʻanae Coast and other communities near landfills or recovering from disasters.

• Share costs with hotels. Hotels contribute part of what they save on hauling and disposal, so the program can keep going after public funding ends.

• Run through the Department of Health Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, which has already been consulted.

• Publicly report tons diverted, items redistributed, people and organizations served, and hotels taking part.

Beneficiaries named: the visitor industry, state and county government, and community nonprofits. Re-use Hawaiʻi earns 83% of its own revenue, so public dollars build on an operation that already pays its own way. Local crews do the work, creating green jobs, including second-chance jobs for people returning from incarceration. Hotel materials already go to more than 20 community partners, including Waiʻanae Comprehensive Health, Nānākuli Housing Corporation, CNHA, Family Promise on Oʻahu, and the Salvation Army.