The Hilo Recycling & Transfer Station at 1471 Hoʻolaulima Road is open every day, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and like every Hawaiʻi County recycling and transfer station it's free for household rubbish.
Keaʻau and Pāhoa are also open daily; smaller stations from Volcano to Laupāhoehoe open three days a week. Bigger loads and construction debris go to the East Hawaiʻi Reload Facility next door, by weight.
County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management
1471 Hoʻolaulima Rd., Hilo, HI 96720 Directions
| Every day | 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
Accepts: Household rubbish; cardboard and glass recycling; scrap metal and appliances (Mon–Sat 8–4); reuse center for usable latex paint and newspaper.
Won't take: Commercial, government or farm waste; trailers and dump-bed trucks.
County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management
16-921 Keaʻau-Pāhoa Rd., Keaʻau, HI 96749 Directions
| Every day | 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
Accepts: Household rubbish; cardboard, brown paper bags and non-HI-5 glass (8 a.m.–4 p.m.); scrap metal and appliances; HI-5 redemption; green waste Sat, Sun, Wed.
Won't take: Commercial, government or farm waste; trailers and dump-bed trucks.
County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management
15-1870 Cemetery Rd., Pāhoa, HI 96778 Directions
| Every day | 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. |
Accepts: Household rubbish; cardboard, brown paper bags and non-HI-5 glass (8 a.m.–4 p.m.); scrap metal and appliances; green waste Sat, Sun, Wed.
Won't take: Commercial, government or farm waste; trailers and dump-bed trucks.
County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management
1651 Hoʻolaulima Rd., Hilo, HI 96720 Directions
| Every day | 7:00 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. |
| Lunch | Closed 12:00 – 12:30 p.m. |
Accepts: All solid waste except prohibited and special-handling materials; construction debris up to 5 cu. yd. a load.
Won't take: Lead-acid batteries, oil, large appliances, whole tires, cars, hazardous waste, tree stumps, asbestos and other special-handling waste.
| Station | Address | Open |
|---|---|---|
| Hilo | 1471 Hoʻolaulima Rd. | Daily |
| Keaʻau | 16-921 Keaʻau-Pāhoa Rd. | Daily |
| Pāhoa | 15-1870 Cemetery Rd. | Daily |
| Glenwood | 18-2463 Ala Mahinaʻai | Sun, Tue, Fri |
| Volcano | 19-3438 Volcano Rd. | Mon, Thu, Sat |
| Kalapana | 12-7660 Kalapana-Kapoho Beach Rd. | Wed, Sat |
| Pāpaʻikou | 27-215 Old Māmalahoa Hwy. | Sun, Tue, Fri |
| Honomū | 28-1844 Old Māmalahoa Hwy. | Mon, Thu, Sat |
| Laupāhoehoe | 35-2061 Old Māmalahoa Hwy. | Sun, Tue, Fri |
| Pāhala | 96-1250 Old Māmalahoa Hwy. | Sun, Tue, Fri |
Rubbish drop-off hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on open days; recycling, scrap metal and appliance areas keep shorter hours (generally 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Residents can drop green waste free at the East Hawaiʻi Organics Facility (1642 Hoʻolaulima Rd., daily 7 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.) and pick up free mulch there on the first Saturday of the month.
County recycling and transfer stations are for household self-haul rubbish only: no commercial, government or farm waste, one load per vehicle a day, up to 3 cubic yards, and no trailers or dump-bed trucks. Scrap metal and household appliances are free at the stations that take them; refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers go in the designated area. Microwaves count as rubbish, not appliances. All county stations close on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Hawaiʻi law keeps lead-acid car batteries (HRS 342I-1) and whole motor vehicle tires (HRS 342I-22) out of trash and landfills: they go back to a retailer or to a permitted recycler. Electronics are handled through the state's manufacturer take-back program rather than a landfill ban, and large appliances are collected separately for recycling at county sites.
Every Hawaii rate we've verified is side by side in our guide to what it costs to dump in Hawaii.
Enter your city or ZIP for the nearest sites across Hawaii, then call ahead — hours and access rules vary a lot here.