Closing Loops in Nutrient Management on Hawaiʻi Island

The proposed project aims to address systemic barriers to creating a closed-loop nutrient management system in direct support of the Hawaiʻi Island Agricultural Cluster. This project takes place amidst volatility in the global soil amendment market and the long-term issues of food security, import dependency and emissions-intensive waste management oin Hawaiʻi Island. This proposed project creates a linkage between the growth of the agricultural value chain led by the Coalition and its partners and an evolution of the waste system management led by the County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management (COH DEM). Currently, a formalized, legal composting infrastructure and market doesn’t exist in Hawaiʻi County. The strategy of this project is to enable a market for locally-produced soil amendments to support regenerative growth within the Agriculture Cluster, build resilience capacity in the food system, and catalyze environmentally sustainable development.