HONOLULU – The Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has established the Compost Reimbursement Program which may reimburse agricultural producers for the cost of purchasing compost.

Act 89 which was enacted in 2018, allocated $650,000 over a two-year period for the reimbursement of 50 percent of compost cost incurred by agricultural producers during fiscal year 2019 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019) and a portion of fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019 to March 30, 2020) not to exceed $50,000 per applicant per year. Funds for the remainder of the three-year program have not yet been funded by the legislature.

“This reimbursement program is aimed at providing assistance to farmers to ease some of the operational cost relating to the purchase of composting material,” said Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, chairperson of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture.

Under the reimbursement program, compost must be purchased from a certified processor, retailer or wholesaler licensed to do business in Hawaii. In addition, certified Hawaii processors are limited to those companies regulated under the Hawaii Department of Health’s Solid Waste Management Program.

Qualified applicants must also provide a W-9 tax form, sample invoice and proof of compliance with federal, state and county tax and business regulations.

For more information and to download the application forms, click here.