Posted on: Monday, March 7, 2005

For the Environment

Advertiser Staff

QUARRY ROAD CLEANUP The Windward Ahupua'a Alliance needs volunteers to pick up litter at Kapa'a Quarry Road, 2:30-5 p.m. March 19, with pizza and beverages to follow. For information, e-mail info@waa-hawaii.org.

MARSH RESTORATION The Hawai'i Nature Center is restoring Pouhala Marsh, the largest remaining wetland in Pearl Harbor. Volunteers are needed to pull pickleweed from 8:30-11:30 a.m. March 19. Bring work gloves, water, hat, sunscreen, towel and change of clothes; covered footwear and long pants required. To sign up, contact Pauline Kawamata at 955-0100, ext. 18.

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

GREEN NOTES

COASTAL REFUGE An easy, two-hour guided walk through the Waihe'e coastal refuge will be offered free at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Maui Coastal Land Trust property includes coastal dunes, wetlands, remains of old Hawaiian villages, an inland fishpond and several heiau. For information and directions to the meeting place, call (808) 244-5263.

HAZARDOUS WASTE DROP-OFF Friday is the deadline to make appointments for the household hazardous waste drop-off March 19. Contact 692-5411 or info@opala.org for an appointment. Before calling, take an inventory of the type and quantity of materials. The following materials are among a long list that will be accepted: acetone, arsenic, herbicides, kerosene, lighter fluid, mercury, paint stripper and thinner, rust remover, swimming pool chemicals and wood preservatives. For more information, check www.opala.org.

TOUR DE TRASH Find out what happens to all the stuff you wash down the drain or flush down the toilet on a March 17 bus tour provided by the city's Refuse Division. The tour will visit the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment Plant and Water Reclamation Facility, where Veolia Water North America processes wastewater into clean water for irrigation and industry; the Navy's Biosolids Composting Facility, where sewage sludge is composted with ground green waste to create a nutrient-rich compost product; the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant; and Pacific Biodiesel, which converts cooking oil and grease from restaurants into a biodiesel fuel. The tour runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and begins and ends at Kapolei Hale. Participants must show up 15 minutes before departure time. Call 692-5410 to register; for details, check www.opala.org/recycling_businesses/Tour_de_trash_2004.html.

BATTERY RECYCLING The nonprofit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp. has introduced the Charge Up To Recycle! program at Radio Shack and Home Depot on O'ahu. Look for the RBRC recycling boxes in those stores. Information: www.rbrc.org.

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 for $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 event, send details to For the Environment, P.O. Box 156, Wailuku, HI 96793; fax (808) 242-1520; or cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.