Recycle Hawaiʻi pioneered the Transfer Station Reuse Center model in Hawaiʻi — receiving a USDA grant to establish the state’s first reuse center, proving that gently used goods could be kept out of the landfill and returned to the community at no cost.
Long before “reuse” became a sustainability buzzword, Recycle Hawaiʻi was building the infrastructure to make it real. The organization received a sub-grant through a USDA funding opportunity to establish what became the first Transfer Station Reuse Center in the State of Hawaiʻi. Located at the Keaʻau Transfer Station, the center opened in 2003 and introduced a simple but powerful concept: instead of landfilling gently used goods that people brought to the transfer station, community members could donate those items — and others could take them home for free or at very low cost.
The model filled a critical gap in Hawaiʻi’s waste diversion ecosystem. Items like clothing, furniture, books, toys, tools, and household goods were being thrown away daily at transfer stations across the island — materials that still had significant life in them. By creating a structured, welcoming reuse space at the point of disposal, Recycle Hawaiʻi diverted hundreds of tons of material from the landfill while simultaneously providing affordable goods to community members and reducing the island’s dependence on imported products.
The Hilo Reuse Center, operated at the Hilo Recycling & Transfer Station on Hoʻolaulima Road, was open daily and became a community institution — run in partnership with Recycle Hawaiʻi and the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management. The success of these early centers helped make the case for expanding the model across the island, eventually leading to reuse centers at eight transfer station locations.
- Received a USDA sub-grant to establish Hawaiʻi’s first Transfer Station Reuse Center at Keaʻau Transfer Station, opened 2003
- Pioneered a model for diverting still-usable goods — clothing, furniture, books, toys, tools, household items — from the landfill at the point of disposal
- Proved 355 tons of goods could be diverted through reuse centers in fiscal year 2016–17 alone (per Recycle Hawaiʻi’s own tracking)
- Operated the Hilo Reuse Center in partnership with Hawaiʻi County DEM, open daily and available to all island residents
- Established the proof of concept that led directly to the expansion of reuse centers across 8 transfer station locations island-wide
The reuse center model that Recycle Hawaiʻi pioneered has become a cornerstone of Hawaiʻi Island’s waste diversion infrastructure. What began as a single funded pilot at Keaʻau has grown into a network of eight reuse centers across the island, operated in partnership with the County. This legacy reflects one of Recycle Hawaiʻi’s core values: that the best solutions are practical, community-centered, and grounded in the real behaviors of real people. The reuse center model works because it meets people where they are — at the place they already go to drop off their unwanted stuff.
Support Recycle Hawaiʻi’s reuse and resource recovery programs.
