The UHMC Recycling Center on Wahinepio Avenue is scheduled to permanently close Tuesday. Photo courtesy Office of Council Services

A Central Maui recycling center used by residents for years is expected to close Tuesday, prompting concerns in the community and among Maui County Council members.

Signs posted at the University of Hawaii Maui College Recycling Center in Kahului saying the facility on Wahinepio Avenue will be “permanently closing” on Tuesday, County Council member Kauanoe Batangan said in a Friday news release.

Batangan said Maui County Council members have been hearing concerns from residents since signs went up earlier this month at the facility, also known as the Kahului Recycling Center.

Signs posted in and around the facility alert the public to the closure. Photo courtesy Office of Council Services

The signs list alternative sites for recycling cardboard, glass and plastics, including the Central Maui Landfill, about 5 miles away, as well as recycling centers in Haiku, Kihei, 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,” Batangan said in a news release. “The UHMC Recycling Center has been a Central Maui community asset for years.”

Batangan said the county’s executive branch told council members and staff in emails that the county’s agreement with University of Hawaii Maui College to use the Wahinepio Avenue site is ending at the end of the month.

He said the administration also advised that it had asked UH Maui College to reconsider and has been searching for another recycling site that would be more convenient for Central Maui residents.

“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.”