Honolulu County, HI Trash & Recycling: Mandatory Organics Recycling (2026)
Key Facts
- Restaurant threshold
- 5,000 sq ft, 400 meals/day
- Market threshold
- 18,000 sq ft or more
- Also covered
- hotels, food courts, hospitals
- Fine
- up to $250 per violation
- Exempt
- churches, most nonprofits
Summary
Large restaurants, hotels, food courts, markets, food manufacturers and hospitals across Oahu must separate food waste and deliver it to a recycling facility under Revised Ordinances of Honolulu § 42-3.5.
The owners of the following food establishments located within the city shall: (i) arrange and provide for the separate collection of food waste and for its recycling by a recycling facility in the city; or (ii) separate food waste from all other solid waste generated by the food establishment and deliver the food waste to a recycling facility: (1) A restaurant that occupies 5,000 square feet or more of floor area and serves 400 or more prepared meals per day based on an annualized average.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-10: Supplement 10, 12-2025 Ordinance No. 25-40 through Ordinance No. 25-56).
Full Breakdown
Any restaurant of 5,000+ square feet serving 400+ meals a day, a food court, a hotel with a kitchen and function rooms, an 18,000+ square-foot market, a food manufacturer of 5,000+ square feet, a similarly sized caterer, or a hospital serving 400+ patient meals a day must arrange separate food-waste collection and recycling, or haul the waste itself to a recycling facility. Churches and most nonprofits are exempt; hospitals are not.
Violations & Fines
Violating § 42-3.5 carries a civil fine up to $250 per violation under ROH § 42-5.1(d); each day a covered establishment fails to comply is enforced separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every restaurant on Oahu have to recycle food waste?
Can a business skip food-waste recycling if it's too expensive?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Honolulu County
Compare Honolulu County to another location·View the Hawaii trash & recycling overview
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