Where In The World Does Hawaii's Trash Go?

Hawaii doesn’t have a traditional recycling plant in the state, so the vast majority of the 56 million pounds of aluminum, bi-metal, glass and plastic collected by the state’s Hi-5 program is transported off-island. Much of that is sent to California and rest all around the globe.

Hawaii receives a lot of shipments, but doesn’t produce a lot of goods that need to travel to the mainland, so recycling companies can take advantage of those empty container ships.