Recycle Hawaiʻi is building the next generation of sustainability leaders by empowering youth with real-world experience in Zero Waste systems, advocacy, and community action. Through hands-on projects, leadership training, and statewide collaboration, young people are helping shape Hawaiʻi’s sustainable future.
Recycle Hawaiʻi has emerged as a leading organization in Hawaiʻi for youth leadership development in sustainability. We believe that when young people are given the tools, mentorship, and opportunities to lead, their voices become some of the most powerful catalysts for change.
Through our Recycling Education & Outreach (REO) program, youth participants do far more than learn about sustainability—they actively design and implement real solutions. Students gain experience in resource recovery systems, policy advocacy, public speaking, community organizing, and Zero Waste infrastructure.
Our youth leaders have already demonstrated the power of this model. Through research, public testimony, and hands-on demonstration projects—including operating an in-vessel composting system—they played a key role in helping pass County Bill 83, advancing composting solutions and food waste diversion on Hawaiʻi Island.
This work reflects a broader vision: building a generation of leaders capable of designing the sustainable systems our islands will depend on in the future.
Young people will inherit the environmental challenges of the coming decades. By investing in their leadership today, we create the capacity needed to transform those challenges into solutions.
Our approach focuses on:
- Hands-on workforce development
- Real-world policy engagement and advocacy
- Systems thinking and Zero Waste infrastructure
- Community leadership and environmental stewardship
Youth participants are not just learning—they are actively shaping policy, operating sustainability systems, and engaging their communities in meaningful change.
Recycle Hawaiʻi is working to grow this initiative into a statewide network of youth leaders through the Hawaiʻi Zero Waste Youth Alliance.
With expanded support, we will:
- Organize additional Zero Waste Youth Convergences, bringing together students from across the islands to collaborate and share solutions.
- Strengthen the interisland youth coalition, enabling regular meetings, leadership development, and joint initiatives.
- Develop international learning opportunities, including a study exchange to Kamikatsu, Japan, the world-renowned municipality implementing Zero Waste at scale.
- Build a leadership pipeline to national conferences, including partnerships with organizations like Bioneers, where Hawaiʻi youth can share their work and learn from global sustainability leaders.
These experiences allow youth to see what is possible—and bring those ideas home to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s own sustainability movement.
Through the REO Youth Program and Mālama ʻĀina Compostables initiative, youth leaders have already:
- Implemented and operated an in-vessel composting system (Ho‘ohuli) to divert organic waste from the landfill
- Organized community compost education and outreach programs
- Partnered with organizations such as Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund to address marine debris and plastic pollution
- Hosted the first Zero Waste Youth Convergence, bringing together young sustainability leaders
- Provided public testimony and advocacy that contributed to the passage of County Bill 83
These accomplishments demonstrate what is possible when youth are trusted with responsibility and given meaningful opportunities to lead.
Your support helps us expand this powerful youth-led movement. Contributions to this cause will help:
- Train and employ youth sustainability leaders
- Organize Zero Waste youth summits and interisland collaboration
- Expand hands-on sustainability infrastructure projects
- Fund leadership exchanges and educational travel opportunities
- Grow the Hawaiʻi Zero Waste Youth Alliance
Together, we can build a generation of leaders equipped to create the sustainable systems Hawaiʻi needs.
By investing in youth leadership today, you are helping shape a more resilient and sustainable Hawaiʻi for generations to come.
