Regional Recycling Resource Hub: Electronics, Appliances, Scrap Metal & Special Materials — Kauaʻi / Līhuʻe

This regional operating guide helps Kauaʻi residents, apartment communities, and property managers identify currently listed recycling and disposal resources for materials that may be excluded from transfer stations, landfill loads, apartment waste agreements, or specific receiving facilities—including electronics, appliances, scrap metal, batteries, pressurized cylinders, HI-5 containers, and household hazardous waste.

A major County-listed electronics, appliance, and metal-recycling facility is Puhi Metals Recycling Center . [1] [2]

Resident and Apartment-Business Loads Are Different: An individual resident may use qualifying residential programs for eligible personal household material. Apartment management, maintenance personnel, contractors, eviction crews, renovation companies, janitorial providers, landscapers, and valet providers must treat property-generated or consolidated material as a business load and follow applicable commercial fees, receiving-facility rules, vehicle limits, and hazardous-waste requirements.

Puhi Metals Recycling Center: E-Waste, Appliances & Scrap Metal

Electronic Waste: Kauaʻi County directs qualifying electronic devices to Puhi Metals for recycling. Accepted examples include computers, printers, televisions, monitors, laptops, tablets, computer peripherals, and other devices listed by the County. [1]

Resident and Business Access: The ordinary e-waste program is currently available to both residents and businesses without a general program charge. Different rules and fees apply to oversized or specialized electronic equipment. [1]

Large Loads: For loads containing ten or more electronic items, the County recommends preparing an itemized list before arrival. Unusually large equipment that cannot fit on a standard pallet may be charged at the currently published rate of $0.50 per pound. Confirm current pricing and whether the item falls within the oversized-equipment category. [1]

  • Facility: Puhi Metals Recycling Center / Resource Recovery Solutions [1] [2]
  • Address: 3951 Puhi Road, Līhuʻe, HI 96766 [1]
  • Hours: Monday–Saturday: 7:30 AM–3:30 PM; closed Sundays and County holidays. [1] [2]
  • Residential Electronics: Currently accepted without an ordinary program charge, subject to item type, size, condition, and facility rules. [1]
  • Business Electronics: Apartment-owned, office, maintenance, and other business devices are accepted under the applicable business and oversized-equipment rules. Call before transporting specialized, industrial, medical, unusually large, or consolidated loads. [1]
  • Residential Appliances and Metal: Qualifying residential appliances and scrap metal are currently accepted without charge. [2]
  • Commercial Appliances and Metal: Apartment-, contractor-, maintenance-, and business-generated appliances or metal are subject to commercial fees. Call for a quote before transporting a commercial load. [2]

Confirm the Material Category Before Transport

Puhi Metals applies different rules to e-waste, scrap metal, white goods, batteries, pressurized tanks, and hazardous material. An item accepted in one category may be excluded from another.

  • E-Waste Examples: Computers, laptops, tablets, televisions, monitors, printers, computer peripherals, and other currently listed devices. [1]
  • E-Waste Exclusions Include: Non-computer batteries, broken or cracked CRT screens, household hazardous waste, coffee makers, smoke detectors, light bulbs, speakers, Styrofoam, and certain specialized equipment. [1]
  • Small Appliances and Tools: Microwaves and qualifying small appliances are handled as scrap metal rather than e-waste. Small appliances and power tools generally must be at least 50% metal. [2]
  • White Goods: Stoves, ranges, washers, dryers, microwaves, refrigerators, freezers, water heaters, and air-conditioning equipment are included in the County’s metal-recycling guidance. [2]
  • Refrigerant Appliances: Empty appliances of food and personal material. Residents and apartment personnel should not attempt to remove refrigerant. Refrigerant recovery and appliance processing should be performed by the receiving facility or another qualified provider. [2]

Līhuʻe Transfer Station: No Appliances or Scrap Metal

The Līhuʻe Refuse Transfer Station does not accept appliances or scrap metal. Līhuʻe-area residents should direct those materials to Puhi Metals. [4]

Other County service areas may provide residential appliance or scrap-metal recycling through Hanalei, Kapaʻa, Hanapēpē, or the Kekaha Landfill. Confirm the current location and operating rules before transport. [4]

Commercial Qualification: Residential transfer-station recycling options do not automatically accept apartment-, contractor-, or business-generated appliances, scrap metal, tires, oil, propane tanks, or other recyclable materials. Use the applicable commercial facility and fee process.

Propane and Other Pressurized Cylinders

Residential Transfer-Station Limit: Kauaʻi County accepts qualifying residential propane cylinders ranging from 16 ounces through 10 gallons or 40 pounds at listed refuse transfer stations. Valves must remain intact. [3]

Oversized Residential Propane Tanks: Tanks exceeding 10 gallons are not accepted at transfer stations. County guidance directs residents to Puhi Metals and currently lists a $40 valve-removal and disposal fee. Verify the fee before transport. [3]

Commercial Tanks: Apartment-, maintenance-, contractor-, landscaping-, and business-generated cylinders are subject to commercial acceptance and fee rules. Call Puhi Metals before transport.

Other Pressurized Cylinders: Contact the applicable air, gas, welding, fire-suppression, or cylinder distributor for material-specific instructions.

Do Not Remove Valves: Residents and apartment personnel should not cut, puncture, drill, vent, burn, or remove valves from pressurized cylinders. Acetylene cylinders are not accepted at County transfer stations, Kekaha Landfill, or Puhi Metals. Old, damaged, or degraded acetylene cylinders require a qualified hazardous-waste or cylinder-management provider.

Household Hazardous Waste: Periodic Resident Events

Kauaʻi County conducts periodic household hazardous-waste collection events for eligible residents. Event dates, locations, accepted materials, quantity limits, and preparation instructions must be confirmed through the current County schedule. [5]

Currently Listed Examples: Qualifying household pesticides, oil-based paint, stains, thinners, solvents, fuels, and other materials identified by the County. [5]

Event Exclusions Include: Latex paint, e-waste, propane tanks, medical waste, tires, used motor oil, fireworks, ammunition, and flares. [5]

No Current Future Date Assumption: As of the review date, the County page displayed an April 2026 event that had already passed. Check for a newly published event before issuing resident instructions.

Household-Only Program: Businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, farms, apartment management, maintenance teams, contractors, and valet providers may not use the residential HHW event for property-generated or consolidated material. Use a qualified commercial hazardous-waste provider. Do not establish an unattended apartment collection area for paint, pesticides, solvents, fuels, chemicals, batteries, or pressurized cylinders.

Household Battery Recycling: Year-Round Weekday Drop-Off

Kauaʻi County provides a residents-only household battery recycling program at the Kauaʻi Resource Center . [6] [7]

Address: 3460 Ahukini Road, Līhuʻe, HI 96766.

Facility Hours: Monday–Friday: 7:45 AM–4:30 PM; closed weekends and County holidays. [6]

  • Accepted Resident Batteries: Alkaline, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal-hydride, small-format lithium-ion, button batteries, and rechargeable tool batteries weighing up to four pounds. [7]
  • Terminal Protection: Tape the terminals of batteries rated at nine volts or higher before transport. [7]
  • Not Accepted: Lead-acid batteries, UPS or APC batteries, embedded batteries, and business, nonprofit, or government battery loads. [7]
  • Apartment-Owned Batteries: Property, maintenance, office, emergency-lighting, power-tool, UPS, and consolidated resident batteries are business material and require an appropriate commercial recycler or hazardous-waste provider.

Lithium-Battery Safety: Do not place swollen, damaged, leaking, recalled, punctured, crushed, or heat-affected batteries in doorstep bags, dumpsters, ordinary recycling, or unattended collection boxes. Contact the receiving recycler, manufacturer, waste provider, or fire authority for material-specific instructions.

HI-5 Redemption and Residential Glass Recycling

HI-5 Redemption: Reynolds Recycling operates a redemption location at the Kauaʻi Resource Center for eligible plastic, glass, and aluminum beverage containers bearing the HI-5 marking. [6] [8]

Current Posted Hours: Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM; closed for lunch from 12:00 PM–1:30 PM; closed Sundays and County holidays. Confirm hours and redemption procedures before travel. [8]

Non-HI-5 Glass: The residents-only Kauaʻi Recycles drop-bin program accepts qualifying household glass at designated locations. Individual residents should use the current accepted-material and preparation instructions. [9]

Apartment Recycling Qualification: Apartment management, maintenance teams, janitorial contractors, and valet providers should not consolidate residential recyclables and deliver them through a residents-only drop-bin program as a business load. Current County guidance directs businesses to commercial recyclers for cardboard, paper, non-HI-5 glass, qualifying plastic bottles and jars, and metal cans.

HI-5 Program Transparency: When apartment management or a valet provider collects residents’ HI-5 containers, disclose whether redemption proceeds are returned to residents, donated, credited to a community program, or retained to offset collection costs. Keep the disclosure consistent with lease documents and resident communications.

Bulky Items: Furniture and Mattresses Use Different Routing

Kauaʻi County currently limits mattresses and furniture larger than three feet to the Līhuʻe Refuse Transfer Station or the Kekaha Landfill. [4]

Appliances and scrap metal are not accepted at the Līhuʻe Transfer Station and should be directed to Puhi Metals in the Līhuʻe service area. [2] [4]

  • Furniture and Mattresses: Līhuʻe Refuse Transfer Station or Kekaha Landfill under current County rules. [4]
  • Appliances, Scrap Metal and E-Waste: Puhi Metals in the Līhuʻe service area. [1] [2]
  • Individual Resident Loads: Residents may self-haul eligible personal household material under the current residential rules.
  • Apartment and Commercial Loads: Management, maintenance, eviction, renovation, contractor, and consolidated resident loads must follow commercial tipping-fee, coupon, vehicle, facility, and material rules. [4]
  • Commercial Vehicle Limits: Commercial vans, trailers, and qualifying vehicles are subject to current load limits and tipping-fee coupon requirements. Confirm current vehicle eligibility before transport. [4]

Commercial Diversion Review: Cardboard, Metal & Green Waste

Kauaʻi County’s business-recycling guidance restricts commercial landfill loads containing more than 10% by volume of corrugated cardboard, ferrous or nonferrous metal, or green waste. Loads may be rejected, and haulers may pass resulting costs or penalties to noncompliant customers. [10]

Apartment properties should review office cardboard, appliance metal, maintenance scrap, landscaping debris, renovation material, and move-in packaging separately from ordinary residential refuse.

  • Confirm the hauler’s rejected-load, contamination, overage, and pass-through fee provisions.
  • Provide a commercial cardboard pathway for property-office, maintenance, delivery, and move-in packaging where needed.
  • Separate property-generated metal and appliances from ordinary commercial refuse.
  • Keep landscaping and contractor green waste out of restricted commercial landfill loads.
  • Do not describe residents-only recycling programs as authorized disposal pathways for property-generated material.

Kauaʻi Apartment Property Manager Operating Checklist

  • Identify whether each load is individual household material or apartment- and business-generated waste.
  • Confirm whether the item is e-waste, scrap metal, an appliance, a battery, a pressurized cylinder, HHW, bulky refuse, or a commercial recyclable.
  • Call Puhi Metals before transporting commercial appliances, metal, oversized electronics, specialized equipment, or consolidated loads.
  • Do not transport appliances or scrap metal to the Līhuʻe Transfer Station.
  • Do not ask residents or staff to remove refrigerant from appliances.
  • Do not cut, puncture, vent, drill, burn, or remove valves from pressurized cylinders.
  • Do not establish unattended battery, electronics, paint, chemical, fuel, pesticide, or cylinder collection areas.
  • Use the Kauaʻi Resource Center battery program only for eligible personal resident batteries during weekday hours.
  • Keep apartment-owned and consolidated resident batteries out of the residents-only program.
  • Use residential HHW events only for eligible individual household material.
  • Separate property-generated cardboard, metal, and green waste where required by commercial-load restrictions.
  • Confirm tipping-fee coupons, vehicle limits, load limits, and facility eligibility before apartment or commercial self-haul.
  • Disclose how HI-5 proceeds are handled when management or a valet provider collects resident containers.
  • Retain provider contracts, quotes, invoices, disposal tickets, weight records, resident instructions, rejected-load reports, and corrective-action documentation.

Verify Before Driving: Facility hours, County holiday closures, customer eligibility, fees, HHW schedules, accepted materials, commercial-load restrictions, vehicle rules, HI-5 procedures, and receiving-facility requirements can change. Confirm the item, source, customer category, quantity, condition, and cost with Kauaʻi County, Puhi Metals, the receiving facility, or the property’s waste provider before transport.

Official and Supporting Sources

  1. Kauaʻi County: Electronic Waste Recycling — Puhi Metals location, hours, resident and business access, accepted electronics, exclusions, large-load lists, and oversized-equipment fees.
  2. Kauaʻi County: Metal Recycling — residential and commercial appliances, scrap metal, refrigerant equipment, commercial fees, and Puhi Metals operating information.
  3. Kauaʻi County: Propane and Other Pressurized Tanks — residential tank limits, valves, oversized-tank routing, current fee guidance, commercial handling, and acetylene restrictions.
  4. Kauaʻi County: Refuse Transfer Stations — facility locations, bulky-item routing, Līhuʻe metal and appliance restrictions, residential programs, commercial coupons, load limits, and vehicle rules.
  5. Kauaʻi County: Household Hazardous Waste Events — household eligibility, business exclusions, event schedule, accepted materials, excluded materials, and preparation guidance.
  6. Kauaʻi County: Kauaʻi Resource Center — address, weekday facility hours, battery recycling, HI-5 redemption, and current program locations.
  7. Kauaʻi County: Battery Recycling — resident eligibility, accepted battery chemistries, terminal-taping rules, weight limits, business exclusions, and prohibited batteries.
  8. Kauaʻi County: HI-5 Redemption Locations — Reynolds Recycling location, operating hours, lunch closure, accepted HI-5 materials, and redemption information.
  9. Kauaʻi County: Kauaʻi Recycles — residents-only drop-bin program, accepted glass and recyclables, preparation instructions, and island locations.
  10. Kauaʻi County: Business Recycling — commercial cardboard, metal and green-waste restrictions, rejected loads, commercial recyclers, and business recycling guidance.

Important: This page provides general property-management and operational information and is not legal advice, a waste-generator classification, a hazardous-waste determination, a receiving-facility authorization, a commercial-account approval, a transportation authorization, a fire-code approval, or an official County compliance determination. Confirm property-specific requirements with Kauaʻi County, Puhi Metals, the property’s primary waste provider, the receiving facility, the fire authority, and qualified legal or environmental counsel.

Information reviewed: August 6, 2026.

 
National Doorstep - The Valet Trash Service Experts

Kauaʻi County Multifamily Refuse and Recycling Guide

Kauaʻi County apartment, condominium, resort, and multifamily property owners and community managers: National Doorstep’s valet trash and recycling programs can support property-specific refuse operations, resident convenience, and applicable recycling programs while remaining coordinated with Kauaʻi County Code Chapter 21, County collection and facility rules, commercial recycling restrictions, and the property’s actual hauling arrangement.

Kauaʻi County operates an integrated solid-waste system that includes County refuse collection, transfer stations, residential recycling programs, commercial disposal, material-specific recycling, and the Residential Refuse Collection Assessment. These programs do not automatically apply in the same manner to every apartment, condominium, hotel, timeshare, resort, private road, or privately serviced multifamily property.

No current provision was identified in the reviewed Kauaʻi County Chapter 21 or Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Chapter 342G materials that requires every apartment property to provide onsite resident recycling solely because it contains a specified number of dwelling units or was constructed after July 1, 2007.

Service and waste-classification notice: Confirm whether each dwelling unit is classified as a serviceable or benefitted property for County collection, whether the development instead uses private dumpster or compactor service, and whether a load consists of residential waste or property-office, maintenance, contractor, landscaping, resort, hotel, timeshare, transient-rental, or commercial-tenant waste.

  • Chapter 21 Scope: Chapter 21 principally governs County refuse-collection services and the handling, recycling, transfer, and disposal of material at County-owned or County-operated solid-waste facilities.
  • RRCA Classification: County residential collection and assessments apply to properties classified as serviceable. Each dwelling unit on a parcel is treated as a separate benefitted property for assessment purposes.
  • Resident vs. Business Waste: Residential waste generated inside an ordinary apartment is not automatically commercial waste. Property-office, maintenance, contractor, hotel, timeshare, resort, landscaping, and commercial-tenant waste may be classified differently.
  • Commercial Diversion: Ordinance 902 restricts covered commercially generated landfill loads containing more than 10% by volume of corrugated cardboard, ferrous or nonferrous metal, or green waste.
  • Recycling Status: No universal unit-count-based onsite recycling mandate was identified. Recycling may nevertheless be required by a commercial-load restriction, provider contract, development approval, ownership policy, lease commitment, or material-specific rule.
  • Operating Documentation: Service contracts, invoices, photographs, resident instructions, rejected-load notices, and corrective-action records can document property procedures but do not waive violations or replace corrective action.

At a Glance: Kauaʻi County and Hawaiʻi State Framework

Kauaʻi County

  • Mandate Type: County collection and facility requirements, RRCA assessments, commercial disposal fees, residential recycling programs, material-specific recycling, and Ordinance 902 commercial diversion restrictions.
  • Chapter 21 Applicability: Applies to persons using County transfer, recycling, debris, emergency-debris, or landfill facilities and to persons setting out receptacles for County collection.
  • Apartment Recycling Threshold: No current “5-unit,” “20-unit,” or comparable threshold requiring every apartment or condominium to provide onsite recycling was identified.
  • Serviceable Property: A residence accessible to County collection vehicles from a public road, and certain private-road properties with an approved access arrangement.
  • Benefitted Property: Real property containing one or more dwelling units. Each unit on a parcel is treated as a separate benefitted property.
  • County Collection: Owners may pay for one refuse receptacle per legally permitted dwelling unit, subject to service eligibility, assessments, account procedures, and additional-cart charges.
  • Private Service: Larger apartments, resorts, hotels, timeshares, private-road developments, and properties using dumpsters or compactors should verify the actual private-hauler agreement and disposal destination.
  • Key County Links:
    Kauaʻi County Code Chapter 21
    Chapter 21 — Scope, Definitions and Penalty
    Chapter 21 — Collection Requirements
    Chapter 21 — Collection and Disposal Fees
    Residential Refuse Collection Assessment

State of Hawaiʻi

  • State Framework: HRS Chapter 342G establishes integrated-solid-waste planning, source-reduction, recycling, bioconversion, disposal, and enforcement authority.
  • Waste-Management Priorities: State and County agencies consider source reduction first, recycling and bioconversion second, and landfilling or incineration third.
  • No July 1, 2007 Mandate: No enacted provision was identified that automatically requires every Kauaʻi apartment building constructed or renovated after July 1, 2007 to provide onsite recycling.
  • Apartment Applicability: State planning priorities do not independently create a universal apartment-owner duty to purchase recycling service, install specific containers, or conduct a prescribed resident-education schedule.
  • State Enforcement: Department of Health enforcement must be tied to an actual violation of an applicable statute, rule, permit, certification, variance, or order.
  • Planning Context: County and State plans can inform voluntary diversion and infrastructure decisions but should not be presented as direct apartment mandates unless implemented through binding law or program conditions.
  • Key State Links:
    HRS Chapter 342G
    HRS §342G-2 — Solid-Waste Priorities
    Hawaiʻi Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch

Do not combine residential and commercial programs: County carts, residential self-haul, residential drop-bin recycling, private apartment dumpsters, commercial tipping-fee accounts, resort waste, contractor debris, landscaping material, and business recycling are separate service structures. Confirm the generator, material, vehicle, account, and facility before publishing instructions.

Fines, Fees and Enforcement Snapshot

  • Kauaʻi County Chapter 21 Violations:
    Section 21-1.6 authorizes a fine of up to $1,000 per offense for a violation of Chapter 21. The violator may also be required to pay County cleanup or remediation costs. Each day a violation occurs or continues constitutes a separate offense.

    These consequences require an actual Chapter 21 violation. They should not be described as penalties for failing to provide voluntary apartment recycling.
  • Commercial Landfill Restrictions:
    County Ordinance 902 restricts landfill disposal of commercially generated loads containing more than 10% by volume of any covered category:
    • Corrugated cardboard;
    • Ferrous or nonferrous metal; or
    • Green waste.
    A covered load may be rejected, and a hauler may pass resulting County penalties, contamination charges, or additional service costs to the customer under the hauling agreement. The restriction should be applied to the relevant commercial generator or load—not automatically to all residential apartment refuse.
  • RRCA Delinquency:
    Failure to pay an applicable residential refuse collection assessment may result in:
    • A lien on the benefitted property;
    • A delinquency penalty of up to 10%;
    • Interest at 1% per month until paid; and
    • Recovery of collection costs and reasonable attorney fees where legal action is required.
    Confirm the current real-property-tax and refuse-assessment account for each applicable dwelling unit.
    Authoritative Link:
    Kauaʻi County Code §21-9.3
  • State of Hawaiʻi Enforcement:
    A violation of an applicable HRS Chapter 342G provision, rule, permit, certification, variance, or order may result in Department of Health administrative or civil enforcement. State penalties can reach $10,000 for each separate offense, with each continuing day treated as a separate offense where authorized.

    HRS Chapter 342G should not be presented as an apartment-recycling fine schedule where no specific recycling duty applies.
    Authoritative Link:
    HRS Chapter 342G
  • Operating Records:
    Contracts, invoices, photographs, resident instructions, County notices, rejected-load reports, disposal receipts, and corrective-action logs can document property procedures. They do not waive a violation, guarantee a warning, or prevent enforcement.

Kauaʻi County Multifamily and Resort Property Manager Operating Checklist

Swipe or scroll horizontally to view all table columns.

Legal requirements, County collection conditions, commercial-load requirements, provider requirements, and recommended controls for Kauaʻi properties.
Task Action or Requirement Official Resources
Legal review
☑ Confirm Chapter 21 Scope 		Determine whether the property or activity involves County refuse collection or the use of a County transfer station, recycling center, debris facility, emergency-debris site, or landfill. Do not describe Chapter 21 as a universal private-property recycling ordinance. Chapter 21 Article 1
Full Chapter 21
County collection condition
☑ Confirm RRCA Classification 		Determine whether each legally permitted dwelling unit is classified as a serviceable property and separate benefitted property. Confirm:
  • Which units receive County collection;
  • Which RRCA assessments appear on the real-property-tax account;
  • The selected cart or manual-service level;
  • Additional cart charges; and
  • Whether the property instead uses private dumpster or compactor service.
 RRCA Program
Chapter 21 Article 9
Waste classification
☑ Identify the Generator 		Separate ordinary residential apartment waste from:
  • Leasing-office and administrative waste;
  • Maintenance and janitorial waste;
  • Contractor and renovation debris;
  • Landscaping and green waste;
  • Hotel, hotel-apartment, timeshare, resort, or transient-rental waste; and
  • Restaurant, retail, office, and other commercial-tenant waste.
Apply facility, fee, recycling, and commercial-load rules according to the actual generator and load. 		Chapter 21 Definitions
County collection condition
☑ Maintain Weekly Removal 		Where the Chapter 21 County collection provisions apply, the owner of a refuse receptacle must remove or arrange removal of its contents at least weekly. Maintain enough approved receptacle capacity for the material generated between scheduled collections. Kauaʻi Code §21-2.1
County collection condition
☑ Follow Cart and Receptacle Rules 		For properties receiving County collection:
  • Use County carts only at designated premises;
  • Keep lids fully closed;
  • Do not place refuse on or around automated carts;
  • Maintain manual receptacles in safe condition;
  • Follow weight, size, bundling, and placement rules; and
  • Keep vehicles from blocking collection access.
Private dumpster and compactor properties should follow the provider contract, approved site plan, fire-access rules, and other applicable property requirements. 		Kauaʻi Code §§21-2.1–21-2.3
Legal requirement
☑ Prevent Unauthorized Disposal 		Do not place refuse in a receptacle serving another property or collection point. Remove refuse scattered by damaged containers, improper placement, animals, or other conditions. When County notice applies, scattered material generally must be removed within three days. Kauaʻi Code §21-2.2
County collection condition
☑ Report Missed County Service 		If County-serviced receptacles are not emptied on the scheduled day, the owner, manager, occupant, tenant, or lessee must notify the Department of Public Works within the period stated in Chapter 21, currently three days. Private-hauler missed service should be reported under the property’s contract. Kauaʻi Code §21-2.2
Commercial-load requirement
☑ Apply Ordinance 902 Correctly 		Evaluate whether property-office, maintenance, landscaping, contractor, hotel, timeshare, resort, or commercial-tenant loads contain more than 10% by volume of corrugated cardboard, metal, or green waste. Confirm:
  • Source-separation requirements;
  • Available commercial recyclers;
  • Hauler inspection and rejected-load procedures;
  • Contamination charges; and
  • Pass-through penalty or service-cost provisions.
 Business Recycling
Recommended control
☑ Confirm the Recycling Arrangement 		Determine whether the property provides:
  • Commercial recycling through its hauler;
  • Cardboard, metal, green-waste, or appliance service;
  • Material-specific electronics or battery programs;
  • Resident-directed residential drop-off guidance;
  • HI-5 redemption information; or
  • No onsite resident recycling.
Do not describe a voluntary or residents-only program as a universal apartment mandate. 		County Recycling Programs
Facility eligibility
☑ Separate Resident and Business Self-Haul 		An eligible resident may self-haul personal residential material under current residential rules. Apartment management, maintenance staff, contractors, landscapers, eviction crews, and commercial vehicles must follow the applicable business or nonresidential facility, vehicle, tipping-fee, coupon, and load-limit rules. Transfer Stations
Disposal Fees
Special-material control
☑ Establish Bulky and Special-Waste Procedures 		Regular County collection excludes specified bulky and restricted materials. Establish separate procedures for:
  • Furniture and mattresses;
  • White goods and appliances;
  • Scrap metal;
  • Tires;
  • Automobile batteries and used oil;
  • Construction and remodeling debris;
  • Electronics and rechargeable batteries;
  • Propane and compressed-gas cylinders;
  • Paint, pesticides, solvents, and hazardous materials; and
  • Disaster debris.
Use the current County or commercial receiving facility appropriate to the material and generator. 		Restricted and Bulky Items
Material-Specific Programs
Provider or site requirement
☑ Review Container and Access Conditions 		Confirm container capacity, enclosure access, gates, loading areas, fire lanes, overhead clearance, accessible routes, private-road agreements, compactor controls, collection hours, gate codes, drainage, stormwater protection, animal control, wind exposure, and hauler turning requirements. Approved site plan, fire requirements, private-road agreement, and hauler contract
Recommended control
☑ Issue Property-Specific Instructions 		Provide accurate resident instructions for trash service, recycling availability, cardboard, green waste, HI-5 containers, electronics, batteries, appliances, bulky items, hazardous materials, move-outs, and valet set-out times. Clearly distinguish:
  • County requirements;
  • Residents-only programs;
  • Commercial-load rules;
  • Provider restrictions; and
  • Property or lease rules.
 Current County guidance, provider instructions, and lease documents
Recommended control
☑ Retain Operating Records 		Retain RRCA account information, refuse and recycling contracts, invoices, tipping-fee records, receipts, rejected-load notices, photographs, resident instructions, service complaints, County correspondence, facility confirmations, and corrective-action records. Property operating and compliance file
Planning item
☑ Coordinate New Construction and Renovations 		Coordinate waste and recycling areas with:
  • The approved site and building plans;
  • Fire-department access;
  • Accessible routes;
  • Stormwater and drainage requirements;
  • Private-road and vehicle access;
  • Container and compactor specifications;
  • Hauler turning and clearance requirements; and
  • The property’s actual collection and recycling arrangement.
Do not rely on a nonexistent July 1, 2007 statewide onsite-recycling mandate. 		Applicable planning, building, fire, engineering, accessibility, and provider requirements
Monitoring control
☑ Monitor Enacted Changes 		Monitor enacted County ordinances, current Chapter 21 provisions, adopted rules, RRCA assessments, facility restrictions, commercial diversion requirements, State laws, and provider contracts. Label proposed legislation, draft plans, pilot programs, and future objectives as pending or limited in scope. Current Kauaʻi County Code
County Solid Waste Division

Planning and Sustainability Context

Kauaʻi County’s solid-waste planning materials provide context for collection, transfer, recycling, landfill capacity, diversion, organics, infrastructure, education, and future program development. Planning goals can inform property operations but should not be presented as direct apartment requirements unless implemented through current code, rules, assessments, contracts, permits, or binding program conditions.

  • Evaluate commercial cardboard, metal, green waste, appliances, electronics, batteries, and reusable materials separately from ordinary refuse.
  • Consider island transportation constraints, landfill capacity, weather, disaster response, pests, salt exposure, service interruptions, and limited receiving facilities when establishing backup procedures.
  • Confirm that a County planning objective has been legally implemented before calling it mandatory.

Kauaʻi Multifamily Compliance Summary

  • ☑ No universal apartment recycling threshold identified: The reviewed Chapter 21 and HRS Chapter 342G materials do not require every multifamily property to provide onsite recycling based solely on unit count.
  • ☑ No July 1, 2007 statewide apartment mandate: No enacted provision was identified that automatically imposes onsite recycling based on that construction date.
  • ☑ Chapter 21 has a defined scope: It governs County collection and use of County solid-waste facilities rather than every private multifamily recycling decision.
  • ☑ RRCA is property-specific: Confirm serviceable-property status, benefitted-property assessments, legally permitted units, and the actual collection account.
  • ☑ Residential and business waste differ: Apartment-resident waste should not automatically be classified the same as property-office, maintenance, contractor, hotel, timeshare, resort, landscaping, or commercial-tenant waste.
  • ☑ Ordinance 902 is commercial: Apply its cardboard, metal, and green-waste restrictions to covered commercially generated loads.
  • ☑ County collection requirements: Where applicable, maintain weekly removal, compliant receptacles, proper placement, clean surroundings, and timely missed-service reporting.
  • ☑ Penalty qualification: County and State penalties require an actual violation of the applicable law, rule, permit, or order.
  • ☑ Valet-trash distinction: Doorstep collection supplements—but does not replace—the County or private hauler responsible for final transport and disposal.

Official and Supporting Sources

  1. Kauaʻi County Code Chapter 21 — integrated-solid-waste chapter index, collection, facilities, residential recycling, landfills, fees, and enforcement.
  2. Chapter 21 Article 1 — purpose, applicability, definitions, scavenging, implementation rules, and the $1,000-per-offense penalty.
  3. Chapter 21 Article 2 — Collection of Solid Waste — weekly removal, cart and receptacle standards, placement, restricted items, scattered refuse, missed service, bulky items, and collection frequency.
  4. Chapter 21 Article 9 — Fees — RRCA assessments, receptacles per legally permitted dwelling unit, commercial tipping fees, vehicle limits, delinquency penalties, interest, and liens.
  5. Kauaʻi Residential Refuse Collection Assessment — County residential collection, assessments, account administration, service information, and current program guidance.
  6. Kauaʻi County Business Recycling — Ordinance 902 restrictions on commercially generated cardboard, metal, and green-waste loads, rejection risk, hauler coordination, and commercial recycling.
  7. Kauaʻi County Refuse Transfer Stations — facility access, residential and commercial use, accepted materials, prohibited materials, vehicle rules, coupons, and bulky-item routing.
  8. Kauaʻi County Recycling Programs — residential, commercial, electronics, metal, battery, HI-5, glass, hazardous-waste, composting, and material-specific resources.
  9. Kauaʻi County Solid Waste Division — County collection, transfer, disposal, recycling, policies, plans, reports, and current program notices.
  10. Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Chapter 342G — State integrated-solid-waste planning, priorities, programs, enforcement authority, and penalties.
  11. HRS §342G-2 — Solid-Waste Management Priorities — source reduction, recycling and bioconversion, disposal, litter, and illegal-dumping planning priorities.
  12. Hawaiʻi Department of Health Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch — State permits, rules, hazardous-waste resources, solid-waste regulation, and compliance information.

Important: This page provides general property-management and operational information and is not legal advice, a County service determination, an RRCA classification, a benefitted-property determination, a waste-generator classification, a facility-access authorization, a hazardous-waste determination, a site-plan approval, a fire-code approval, an accessibility determination, or an official government compliance certification. Ordinances, assessments, collection routes, facility rules, accepted materials, fees, provider contracts, and enforcement procedures may change. Confirm current property-specific requirements with the Kauaʻi County Solid Waste Division, the County Finance Department, the property’s hauler, the receiving facility, the fire authority, and qualified legal or environmental counsel.

Information reviewed: August 6, 2026.

Need an operational waste-area review for a Kauaʻi apartment, condominium, or resort community? National Doorstep can review collection capacity, valet-trash procedures, resident instructions, recycling options, commercial diversion controls, bulky-item procedures, service documentation, and waste-area conditions to help identify operating gaps and support the property’s compliance efforts.

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