LANA'I CITY, Lana'i – Maui County has finalized two land agreements with Castle & Cooke Inc. that will establish a recycling center on Lana'i and convey ownership of the island's 35-acre landfill to the county.

"This is an important resolution to a longstanding need for the residents of Lana'i," Mayor Charmaine Tavares said in a news release. "By completing these two agreements, the county is able to resolve ownership, receive daily landfill cover and proceed with necessary storm drainage improvements."

Under a memorandum of understanding, Castle & Cooke transferred ownership of the landfill to the county and will provide 80 tons of landfill cover material per day at no cost. State Department of Health regulations require that landfills utilize cover fill.

The county agreed to waive tipping fees incurred by the company, and as owner, can now access the property to make necessary improvements to storm-water drainage infrastructure.

The deal also resolved a lingering issue over interpretation of an initial license agreement made in 1968 that allowed the county to operate the landfill on 10 acres at no cost, and addressed a 25-acre expansion of the landfill site that occurred an unknown number of years ago.

The second agreement grants the county use of an acre of land for a recycling and redemption center for a three-year period, with options to renew for an additional 12 years.

A $241,850 recycling grant, received by Tri-Isle RC&D from the county Department of Environmental Management, will cover the cost of planning, designing and implementing a three-year pilot recycling project to increase the recycling of plastic, glass, metal cans, cardboard, newspaper, batteries, tires, appliances and electronics.

While a privately operated center accepts HI-5¢ containers on Lana'i, there are no drop boxes for nonredemption recycling.

The new recycling facility is being designed by Zero Waste Strategies of Boulder, Colo. Construction could begin as early as this spring, officials said.

"This project addresses one of the top priorities listed in our recently revised Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan: to increase our recycling rate goal in Maui County to 60 percent," said Cheryl Okuma, director of the Department of Environmental Management.

"Recycling on Lana'i will help divert waste from the landfill, which will extend the life of the landfill and redirect materials that can, and should be, reused."

The two agreements were authorized by the County Council on Dec. 17 and signed by Tavares on Jan. 7.