UHMC Recycling Center to close June 30, County working to open new Central Maui recycling center

The County of Maui is working to open a new recycling center in Central Maui, following the ending of an agreement with the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College for the operation of a recycling center at the Kahului campus.

The UHMC Recycling Center will close effective Tuesday, June 30, 2026.

“We understand this transition may be an inconvenience for some residents, and we are actively working to identify an alternative recycling site in Central Maui during this transition period,” said Department of Environmental Management Director Shayne Agawa. “In the meantime, Aloha Recycling will continue collecting cardboard, and residents can take other recyclable materials to any of the four other recycling drop-off locations in Central Maui or to any of the County’s recycling sites islandwide. We are actively seeking another site and hope to have a new location available soon.”

During the transition, residents can continue to recycle acceptable materials at the following locations:

Private redemption facilities (HI-5):

• Aloha Recycling: Kahului, Haʻikū, Makawao and Kīhei locations. Aloha Recycling has agreed to provide residents with cardboard recycling drop-off services during this transition at its Kahului base yard, 808-871-8544
• Aloha Shell Service: Kahului location, 808-877-5894
• Reynolds Recycling: Kahului location, 808-348-1750

County-owned recycling facilities (non-HI-5):

• Central Maui Landfill, Pūlehu Road, 808-270-6153, Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Acceptable Items include mixed paper (newspaper, printer paper, magazines), cardboard (mixed cardboard, paper bags), metal cans (beverage cans, food cans), plastic bottles (No. 1 and 2), glass bottles and jars (glass containers of all sizes). 

For more information, visit www.mauicounty.gov/Recycle  or call the County of Maui Recycling Hotline at 808-270-7880. 

Council Members share residents’ concerns over imminent closure of Central Maui recycling center 

Signs at the UHMC Recycling Center saying that the much-used facility will be “permanently closing” Tuesday were met with concern from Central Maui residents and their representatives in government, Council Member Kauanoe Batangan said.

Council members have been hearing community members’ concerns since earlier this month when the signs went up at the facility, also known as the Kahului Recycling Center, he said.

The signs list alternative sites for recycling cardboard, glass and plastics, including the Central Maui Landfill—which is five miles away—and recycling centers in Haʻikū, Kīhei, Makawao and Olowalu.

“The last thing we want to see is for residents to be inconvenienced or prevented from engaging in sustainable practices that have become habit,” said Batangan, who holds the council seat for the Kahului residency area. “The UHMC Recycling Center has been a Central Maui community asset for years.”

In emails to council members and staff, the County of Maui’s executive branch  has said the county’s agreement with University of Hawaiʻi Maui College to use the Wahinepiʻo Avenue site is ending at the month’s end, Batangan said. The administation further advised that it requested UHMC reconsider and has been searching for another recycling site that is more convenient to Central Maui residents, he said.

“We understand the importance of having a conveniently located recycling center in Central Maui,” Batangan said. “Presently, the county is left with no choice because of the decision of the landowner, but our office has joined in the search for potential solutions, and we hope there will be a new location soon.”

The Department of Environmental Management leads the county’s recycling efforts. The department may be reached through its recycling hotline at 808-270-7880 or online at https://www.mauicounty.gov/2907/Environmental-Management.