The Maui Resource Recovery Facility LLC will build a material recovery facility (MRF) on the Hawaii island to divert about 85 percent of Maui County’s municipal solid waste (MSW) from the landfill.

Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa executed an agreement with Maui Resource Recovery to finance, design, construct, own and operate the resource recovery facility, according to a news release. The parties expect the facility to be fully operational in 2017, with 40 jobs.

The recycling facility will separate metals, glass, plastic, cardboard and paper, and also will separate the material into digestible organic fraction and residual matter. The organic material will go to an anaerobic digestion operation that will make natural gas and other marketable commodities.

The facility will process the residual matter into a clean solid fuel that can be used to replace imported coal. The facility's power needs will be met largely by creating electricity using the landfill gas and renewable gas as a fuel source.

Maui Resource Recovery was developed by Anaergia Services, Carlsbad, Calif.

“The county embarked on this project to foster creation of on-island renewable energy and land-use sustainability,” Arakawa said. “The Maui Resource Recovery Facility's solution bolsters recycling efforts for the community and advances significant landfill diversion, while providing a considerable net environmental benefit, renewable fuels and long-term cost savings in the millions of dollars over the 20-year term of the agreement.”