For Immediate Release: March 29, 2006
DBEDT Release News 06-11

HONOLULU--Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) has been named one of the "Top 50" programs in the Innovations in American Government Awards competition sponsored by Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Going into final judging, DBEDT's submittal, "Pollution Prevention Produces Power," is in the top five percent of the initial applicant pool of over 1,000 entries. In the next round of competition, Kennedy School evaluators will identify the 18 finalists for the 2006 Innovations Awards.

DBEDT collaborated with Schwitzer Steel and other entities to divert marine debris, including abandoned commercial fishnets that had been collected from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, from Oahu's landfill to H-POWER to produce enough electricity to power 42 homes each year. More than 250 tons of marine debris has been collected to date by 14 public and private organizations. The marine debris, which destroys reefs and kills marine mammals, would have ended up in Oahu's overburdened landfill.

The program has generated considerable interest throughout the Pacific. Asahi TV of Japan produced a 30-minute documentary of the program, tracing the debris from the high seas to H-POWER. It was viewed by a record-breaking 11 million Japanese.

The program has also helped encourage Hawaii's fishermen to voluntarily bring in "ghost net" from the high seas, preventing it from reaching the ecologically sensitive Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

For more information, contact:
Dave Young
Communications
Phone: (808) 587-1212
Email: dyoung@dbedt.hawaii.gov