The talk began with a review of the topics of the last meeting, at Mokupapapa Discovery Center, and then moved onto observations of how people have reacted to the various meetings on the island.  Richard Anthony stated, in relation to the last meeting, that he would like the points of the County Council Resolution 356-07 presented to the county council.  The point he thought was most important was getting organics out of the landfill.  Anthony also thought that current land use rules, which would possibly be modified by the resolution, remain barriers to this island moving forward in the goal of creating zero waste.  The hosts stated that everyone on the island, that has attended one of the talks, has had about the same concerns. 
Ten Zerowaste meetings have been conducted so far.  Organics have been the main concern, since they cause about all the problems in the landfill, through their creation of methane gas and trapping of heat.  This trapping of heat holds in moisture, which enables the leaching of harmful chemicals.  It also is a vector for disease and invasive species, since these materials can travel all around the islands.
The hosts then stated that they have observed that some people hold certain misleading beliefs about instituting recycling reforms.  One such belief, many people hold, is that landfill liners are secure, but landfill liners are known to break.  A recent earthquake broke one liner. Secondly, some people believe that there will be significant job losses created by reforming the current waste system. The truth is that some jobs will be lost, but many more will be created.  200 jobs can be created for recycling and reusing, and 8 jobs can be created for composting. Also, much money can be made off of dismantling electronics.  The more the E-waste people dismantle, the more money they make and the less county costs become. The hosts believe that 30 or 40 jobs could be created on this island through these processes.  Thirdly, deconstruction is very labor intensive, so about 15 jobs could be created with the instituting of a deconstruction program. 
Deconstruction means taking buildings apart piece by piece, so that all the parts can be reused or recycled.  This is in contrast to blowing up or bulldozing buildings.  There are other benefits to deconstruction, other than the creation of jobs.  Deconstruction keeps bulk items out of the landfill and it is the best way to train construction workers.
Plenty of other benefits can be derived from these processes.  Some companies, including deconstruction companies, sell carbon credits, so that people can put money toward programs that offset the output of fossil fuels in exchange for the amount of released carbon an individual or business usually creates.  Reuse stores sell items for about 40 percent less than other stores.  Old wood has the potential to be more valuable, because it has shrunk down to its final size, dried out, and can be more structurally sound.  The rubber of old tires can be used for shoes and asphalt.  This island has the opportunity to become very self-sufficient through these and similar reforms.  For instance, the Big Island used to get 90 percent of its food from island sources, now only 45 percent of our food is produced on this island.  These revelations have the potential to influence even more of the island’s economy for the better. 
Other concerns were then presented by the hosts.  The hosts stated that we currently have our one way bottle system; because those companies that produce one time use bottles, deliberately set out to destroy the two way bottle system.  Laura Anthony said that, in San Diego, California, they became fed up with the government not listening to their concerns, so they formed their own grass roots movements to make any changes they wanted.  She also stated that we need to speak to our politicians about our concerns.  Laura further stated, “Don’t ban without a plan.  For instance, if you want to ban plastic bags, provide an alternative.” The alternatives, she suggested, include using reusable bags and post consumer recycled paper bags.
The first audience member to speak was Elizia O’Toole of Morgan Stanley and the Hawaii County Council Development Committee.  She spoke as a representative of these organizations.  O’Toole said that was a dramatic transition moving here, because back in Oregon, where she is from, they already had all these recycling policies in place.  Richard commented on this, that he thought that when businesses lead others follow.  O’Toole continued by stating that we should start doing things slowly and she was interested, as a community, in bringing in ingenuity.  She further emphasized her point by saying, “The more we talk about what is out there, the light bulbs go on.”
The discussion then continued with more members of the audience contributing.  The next person said “It (recycling and re-using policies) really comes down to cutting costs.”  This person also felt that it was about the government process.  O’Toole continued her speaking, by stating, “There is a delicate balance between costs and bonding.” She related this, to the discussion, with the idea that some organizations and or businesses need bonds to do what is required to improve their waste removal procedures. 
A University of Hawaii at Hilo student spoke next. She stated that she feels bad when she uses things like Styrofoam plates, because her grandmother saved everything, since she had the experience of living through the depression.  This observation of her grandmother made her concerned with how wasteful the current population is.
A County council member then spoke.  This person said, “You can’t ban things unless you have a place to put it.”  They also thought that people will recycle things, if there is an easy way to do it. 
The next audience member thought it was really odd that Recycle Hawaii was not a government agency.  This resulted from the fact that she had recycled most of her life in a state that made it easy for her to do so.  She also thought that we need to brainstorm about ways to create more jobs, while keeping in mind those that may be worried about losing them, if recycling and reusing policies are implemented, because work as something like a refuse worker. 
Jesse Law of Sustainable Island Products then spoke.  Through his business, Law is involved with helping people figure out what to do with items that cannot be easily recycled and helping event sponsors provide only easily biodegradable products to those that attend their events.  He said that a person once asked him what to do with food contaminated paper and compostable food containers, and he told them that they could get someone, on private property with a chipper, to cut up these materials into small pieces.  As far helping event sponsors goes, Law helped the Powwow before and now is helping the county faire.  Law recently figured out that his business requires him to bring a great deal of packaging, which has been a large nuisance considering that one of the primary goals of his business is to be sustainable. 
Another audience member was worried about the future and how it would affect his kids. 
The next person thought that we need to get people to think about reusing things.  They thought this was especially important, since organizations like Arc of Hilo will put materials back into a serviceable condition.  For instance, the Arc of Hilo takes glass containers from people and sanitizes them.  These glass containers are then sent to people who can use them, like those that make jam products. 
One of the hosts mentioned that the mattress industry is currently looking for an environmentally sound way to deal with their refuse.  This occurred because someone contacted them with this concern. 
Hitches Grove spoke next.  Grove said she works in education and would like to find more ways to make crafts from recycled materials.  One of the hosts, recommended to her, getting supplies and craft ideas from the companies, Materials for the Arts and Creative Reuse.    
Audience members then added more comments.  Laura spoke, again.  She thought that when kids write to politicians, the politicians are more likely to listen to them.  Law, also spoke again.  He stated that biodiesel uses more water than coal, natural gas, or oil, according to a publication he read. 
The next audience member thought that we should get government organizations to have green initiatives. They also thought that we need to educate people that recycling and reusing infrastructure will keep jobs and add more. This person then stated, “If you can privatize things and make it cheaper and better, we should use them over county employees.  [This is the] county[‘s] policy, but unions often have influence over this not happening.  Any county projects need to go through a procurement process, but people doing things on their own land, privately, don’t.”  The procurement process is a necessary county policy, in which they have to put all county projects to a bid.