About

Founded in 2019 as a grassroots community group, Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island (ZWHI) is a fiscally sponsored organization dedicated to engaging diverse Hawaiʻi Island communities to achieve zero waste. Set in cultural foundations, ZWHI draws on the Kumu Honua Mauli Ola framework to create impact at the home, community, and global/governance levels. In this way, we work to replace today’s single-use culture with an older system of waste reduction grounded in Hawaiian values of kanaka, ʻāina, and akua connections (humankind, land, and spirit) – recalling the ancient relationship between land and humanity. ZWHI is fiscally sponsored by Inquiring Systems Inc.

Partners

• Inquiring Systems Inc. (Fiscal Sponsor)

• Perpetual (Non-Profit)

• Hawaiʻi County Dept. of Environmental Management

• University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant

Programs and Resources

• Hoʻi Returnable Foodware Program
  launching in 2026

• Aloha ʻĀina Program
  community workshops, school assemblies, curriculum & toolkit development

• Community Dish Library
  plates, bowls, jars, and utensils available for borrow by donation

• Coming Soon/In the Works
  Huakaʻi Hoʻi, Community Garden, Community Tool Library