Hawaii

The overwhelming plastic waste Hawaii visitors leave behind

Published

1 year ago

August 24, 2023

Press Room

The overwhelming plastic waste Hawaii visitors leave behind

Sunbathers on the beach at Waikiki Bay.

Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty

Hawaii saw more than 9 million visitors last year. Those tourists’ first stops are often big-box and convenience stores, where they buy bottled water, plastic sand toys, single-use bodyboards, noodles, floaties and inner tubes for their trips.

Plastics like in-room toiletries provided by resorts, plus to-go containers and cutlery provided by restaurants, are used and discarded by guests day after day. A single hotel chain can use hundreds of millions of little bottles of shampoo and conditioner every year.

When visitors leave, a lot of these items end up in the trash, yet Hawaii doesn’t have the infrastructure to recycle the immense amount of plastic left behind.

“Remember that you’re visiting an island; whatever you ‘throw away’ here doesn’t have anywhere else to go,” Billy Middleton, a Hawaii Island-based ocean technology engineer and conservation photographer, told SFGATE. “‘Away’ is right around the corner and often ends up in the ocean.”

FILE: Children playing in the sand at Bellows Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.
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“The way that our waste collection systems are set up and our behaviors, a lot of those materials end up in the marine environment, they end up in the land,” Jennifer Milholen of the Kokua Hawaii Foundation told KHON-TV. The foundation estimates that 70% of the ocean’s plastic pollution comes from the land.

In Hawaii, once collected, plastics are either consumed by progressively fuller landfills in the islands or shipped off island on fuel-consuming marine vessels for processing elsewhere. For example, Kauai’s landfill is expected to reach capacity in 2027. If limited places exist to recycle plastics on the islands, and landfills are reaching capacity, plastic pollution has nowhere else to go.

“Yes, plastic is cheaper, but only when you don’t incorporate the clean-up costs. If there isn’t a pono [responsible] way to dispose of it on the island, then what are we doing allowing it?” Megan Lamson, president of the Hawaii Wildlife Fund, told SFGATE.

Microplastic pollution littering Waimanalo Beach in Hawaii.

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Addressing the problem

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Hawaii has made some progress in reducing plastic waste. On Oahu, plastic bags and disposable food service ware have been banned. Maui, the first island to prohibit plastic shopping bags in 2011, has also been making great strides in preventing single-use plastic usage. In 2022, Maui bans on both polystyrene bodyboard sales and plastic disposable food ware went into effect.

Middleton suggests that visitors help by bringing reusable water bottles and shopping bags and by renting quality gear for water play while in Hawaii versus purchasing the non-recyclable PVC floats, which are made for pool use versus natural settings.

Visitors can also bring or purchase a reusable, eco-friendly cutlery set and refuse single-use plastics at restaurants, such as takeout containers, straws and utensils. They can also research lodging and activities that are actively lessening their environmental footprint in advance.

“People come here because it’s beautiful; it just seems so obvious that you’d want to keep it beautiful and leave it better than you found it,” Marina Scott, a coordinator for the Surfrider Foundation’s Rise Above Plastics program, told SFGATE. The program was launched in 2021 as a way to raise awareness about the issue among local companies, resorts and visitors to Hawaii.

She explains the impact by visitors can be staggering in terms of how much plastic they use while on vacation, sharing that the average stay in Maui is about 10 days. With just under 3 million visitors to Maui in 2022 alone, Scott asks people to imagine if each visitor used two plastic water bottles per day. Approximately 60 million plastic water bottles that too often struggle to end up in a recycling bin would be added to Maui’s waste annually. And that’s not including non-recyclable, petroleum-based flotation devices and beach toys purchased for entertainment purposes.

The largely volunteer-based team provides reusable water bottles to resorts, such as the Residence Inn Maui Wailea and AC Hotel Maui Wailea, and works with them to educate their guests in advance on their sustainability practices.

Garbage on Mokuleia Beach on Oahu.
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Individuals can help prevent further plastic pollution through their purchasing decisions and refusals, but, she says, the onus is on those responsible for manufacturing and distributing petroleum-based products without a disposal plan.

“For the last 40 years, this issue has been on the shoulders and has been a burden on consumers and local municipalities,” Lauren Blickley, the Surfrider Foundation’s Hawaii regional manager, told SFGATE. “It’s time to shift it back and put it on the producers who have the opportunity to improve their products and make them less plastic-intensive.”

The state is trying to make headway with this issue. House Bill 1326, for example, passed in March to help the state transition to a “zero solid waste economy.” Another bill, House Bill 85, proposes banning hotel toiletry bottles.

“When people come to Hawaii and see our bans in place, they realize that these are things that are very easy to do and actually support the environment yet don’t take away from your experience,” Blickley says. “I hope these are ideas they can take back home and help them spread.”

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Hawaii

Hawaii surfer Landon McNamara wins the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

Published

2 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Hawaii surfer Landon McNamara wins the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational

WAIMEA BAY (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s official: Landon McNamara has won the 2024 Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational.

He received 135.8 points as well as the highest-scoring wave of the competition — a perfect score of 15 — which earned him the Best Wave Award.

“This is a childhood dream of mine, something I’ve been working at since being a little kid on the beach here, watching these events go down,” he said. “I don’t know what to feel right now. I’ve already cried 10 times.

“I’m grateful to Eddie,” McNamara said. “Both my heats, I had a turtle I was following. For real. … They say Eddie picks the winner, and I’m so grateful he picked me.”

The accomplishment is even more fitting considering his father, Liam McNamara, is the contest director.

The top nine finishers were:

Landon McNamara (HI, 2024 WINNER)
Mason Ho (HI)
Billy Kemper (HI)
Jamie O’Brien (HI)
Nic Lamb (CA)
Luke Shepardson (HI, 2023 WINNER)
Nathan Florence (HI)
Kai Lenny (HI)
Koa Rothman (HI)

Competitor Greg Long received the Aloha Spirit Award. “Participating in this event has been the greatest honor and privilege of my life,” he said.

THE EDDIE IS ON: View our complete coverage

Tens of thousands of people gathered on Oahu’s North Shore to witness the historic event Sunday.

Waves were 50 feet in face height, according to Liam McNamara.

“The conditions are amazing. There’s a strong offshore breeze right now,” McNamara told Hawaii News Now early Sunday morning. “We’re looking for an amazing day of competition. This is a historic day. We want to make sure we start it with a bang and we end with a bang.”

This is the 11th time “The Eddie” has run in the last 40 years, and participation is by invitation only.

Previous Coverage:

For more information:

Rip Curl The Eddie Big Wave Invitational
TheEddieAikau.com

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Hawaii

Hawaii surfing competition 'The Eddie' braces for 50-foot waves Sunday | Latest Weather Clips | FOX Weather

Published

10 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

Hawaii surfing competition ‘The Eddie’ braces for 50-foot waves Sunday

The forecast for massive 50-foot waves in Hawaii prompted the organizers of The Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational, the premier surfing event in the world, to schedule the event for Sunday. “The Eddie” competition requires consistent 40-foot or higher surf. If Sunday’s event goes on as planned, it’ll be only the 11th time it has happened since 1984.

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Hawaii

This Popular Hawaii Resort Has A New 3-Story Penthouse And Renovated Pools With Local Amenities

Published

18 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

This Popular Hawaii Resort Has A New 3-Story Penthouse And Renovated Pools With Local Amenities

The family-friendly Resort Pool at the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

When it comes to Waikiki’s luxury hotels, the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach, is one of the most beloved properties for frequent visitors to this popular corner of Hawaii. With all its spacious rooms boasting balconies with ocean views and kitchens to ensure a comfortable stay no matter how long your trip may be, it’s a true home away from home, with the added magic that comes with the brand’s phenomenal customer service. To make things better, the resort recently unveiled a collection of new suites and reimagined pools, providing guests an even more elevated experience than before.

Dubbed the Sky Suites, these sumptuous, multi-bedroom accommodations have become the pinnacle of luxury living in Waikiki. Encased in floor-to-ceiling windows, delivering sweeping panoramas of the neighborhood’s namesake beach and the beautiful blue Pacific at every turn, the vistas alone are worth every penny. But once you add in the modern furnishings, full kitchens with Miele appliances, the formal dining spaces, and pristine white marble bathrooms, you’ll never want to look back. To top it all off, they also come with exclusive perks, including roundtrip airport transfers, a dedicated VIP concierge, and a pre-stocked refrigerator with preferred beverages and snacks.

The three-bedroom Sky Suite

Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

Guests have the option between three- or four-bedroom Sky Suites. The former is a coveted corner unit that features what is arguably the resort’s best view of Diamond Head, along with a sleek, marble kitchen island that’s great for entertaining. The latter is the property’s largest, spanning nearly 3,000 square feet across two floors, and is the only four-bedroom suite in all of Waikiki. It also sports the resort’s biggest kitchen, making it particularly great for private chef dinners, and the double-height living room allows for plenty of natural light to filter in.

The Sky Penthouse rooftop deck

Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

But the Ritz-Carlton’s crowning jewel, quite literally, is the Sky Penthouse. Occupying the top floors of the resort’s Diamond Head Tower, this three-story, two-bedroom suite soars 350 feet above Waikiki. The first level houses the living spaces, a kitchen with a wine fridge, one bedroom, and a small media room that also doubles as a great private reading nook. The second floor is entirely dedicated to the master bedroom, but it’s the rooftop that’s the real selling point. Touting one of the neighborhood’s highest infinity plunge pools, the furnished deck also features a hot tub and grill, and is particularly ideal for sundowners.

You won’t need to book the Sky Penthouse for an incredible pool experience, though. The property offers its guests two infinity pools, one of which is an adults-only oasis. Both offer private cabanas, with the options at the family-friendly pool being larger, that come with a mini refrigerator stocked with local beverages and snacks. All guests can also expect a variety of thoughtful pool amenities, including sunscreen service and hourly snacks that pay homage to local favorites, like fresh pineapple dipped in li hing mui. The resort’s popular daily afternoon ritual of complimentary ice cream and sorbet is still available, and now includes an adult version with the addition of sparkling wine float. Quite frankly, there’s enough to keep you at the pool that you may never want to leave.

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