Posted on: Monday, December 6, 2004

For the Environment

Advertiser Staff

ALA WAI HARBOR CLEANUP Help the Sierra Club make the harbor a point of pride and foster sea life by using scoopers and nets to gather up flotsam and jetsam. Volunteers should meet at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Harbor Master's Office. Wear sturdy shoes with gripping soles and bring a hat, thick rubber gloves, sunscreen and water. Contact Deborah Blair at 737-0168.

GIVE PEACE GARDEN A CHANCE Volunteers of all ages are welcome to plant native plants and maintain grounds at the Millennium Peace Garden from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday. The garden at the corner of 18th Avenue and Diamond Head Road, across from Bark Park. Materials will be provided, but volunteers should wear shoes. For more information, e-mail peacegarden@gmail.com or call Sean Casey at 780-7326.

CLEAN SWEEP OF KA IWI Start the new year with a clean sweep of the Ka Iwi coastline with the Sierra Club from 8 to 10 a.m. Jan 2. Free T-shirts and refreshments; reservations required. Meet in the Sandy Beach parking lot. Call Lisa Keala Carter at 722-8727.

Green Notes

TOUR DE TRASH Sign up for a Tour de Trash bus tour of O'ahu's trashier side, provided by the city's Refuse Division. Get an up-close look at the recycling and waste processing technology in operation on O'ahu during Saturday's Recycling and Waste Processors tour from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The tour starts and finishes at Kapolei Hale and visits the H-POWER waste-to-energy plant, the Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill, Hawaiian Earth Products, Hawai'i Metal Recycling and Lenox Metals. Participants must show up 15 minutes prior to departure time. Call 692-5410 to register; for tour schedules and details, check www.opala.org/recycling_businesses/Tour_de_trash_2004.html.

HAZARDOUS WASTE AMNESTY Big Island residents can dispose of household hazardous waste products from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Kealakehe Transfer Station. Acceptable materials include automotive fluids, all types of batteries, corrosives, mercury thermometers, oil-based paints and stains, solvents and thinners, garden supplies, poisons, and miscellaneous hazardous household chemicals. For more information, call the county recycling coordinator at (808) 961-8942.

MAKAPU'U HIKE The Sierra Club membership recruitment hike will be Dec. 26 at Makapu'u. Meet at 5:30 p.m. at the trailhead for the easy, 1-mile hike. Bring a flashlight and snacks to watch the moon rise from the Makapu'u Lookout. Reduced $25 membership offered to participants. Call Ed Mersino at 455-8193, Maile Sakamoto 946-5712 or Mike Gawley 779-3645.

WORK WITH THE FISHES The Waikiki Aquarium has volunteer opportunities for School Support Program docents, Edge of the Reef interpreters, Monk Seal Program assistants, aquarist assistants, gift shop staff and more. Call the aquarium's volunteer coordinator at 923-9741.

FREE BIG ISLAND MULCH Help yourself to free mulch from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily at a new public pick-up area adjacent to the Kealakehe Transfer Station, or from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Hilo Transfer Station. The county Department of Environmental Management sponsors the free mulch program. Loading assistance is available only at the Hilo location at a cost of $10 to $40 depending on vehicle size. Deliveries of large truckloads of mulch to homes, businesses or farms can be arranged by calling the Big Island Recycling representative at (808) 306-1876.

For a free listing of your environmental event, send details to For the Environment, P.O. Box 156, Wailuku, HI 96793; fax (808) 242-1520; or e-mail cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.