Kiawah’s recycling cans might look a bit different, but they work just as hard.
Most homeowners on Kiawah Island would admit that they were drawn to the area due to its environmental stewardship and the eco-conscious priorities that leaders of the town set as a priority.
Sure, it’s beautiful on Kiawah Island, but there is a reason why it has stayed that way all these years.
Actually, Council Member Michael Heidingsfelder said that he fell in love with Kiawah Island more than 20 years ago because the unique environment was obviously well-cared for, clean and, quite honestly, pristine. He also said he took particular notice at how the community worked hard to keep it that way.
Now, he is leading an effort called Kiawah Goes Green. It’s a community-committed group of various stakeholders, business owners and homeowners who want to enact a number of “green” initiatives, as well as educate the community on things they can do to further enhance and care for Kiawah’s fragile environment.
This isn’t the first time that the Town of Kiawah Island has taken on a green commitment. Former Council Member Dr. Scott Parker led a “Kiawah Goes Greener” ad-hoc working group that began in October of 2021. The goals for that group were similar to the goals that Heidingsfelder described for the current green initiative. However, they were updated to reflect more of the issues that Kiawah Islanders face today.
Still, some of the same issues that Kiawah faced then, they face today, and Heidingsfelder said he hopes that this new Kiawah Goes Green initiative will revitalize some of the old objectives with renewed activity.
For example, they plan to enhance their support for electric vehicles. Not only do they hope to build a network of standardized electric vehicle charging stations across the area, but they also hope to convert many of the non-emergency and operating entities’ vehicle fleet to electric vehicles.
Beyond that, they are testing the use of battery-operated landscaping equipment — especially leaf blowers — on the island based on the newest available battery technology.
They also hope to decrease the use of single-use plastic materials, explore the use of solar panels, implement a hazardous waste collection program as well as implement a central composting process for food and perishable items from area restaurants and homes.
These efforts will also need an extensive education and communication plan to inform the community of these green initiatives. The goal is to one day certify Kiawah Island as a Green Tourist Destination.
Stakeholders in the Kiawah Goes Green working group will be from the Town of Kiawah Island, KICA, South Street Partners, the Kiawah Island Club, the resort, the Kiawah Conservancy and four community members.
Heidingsfelder said that the community members were vetted based on applications where their background, skills and the amount of time they could commit to the group were considered.
The mission statement for the Kiawah Goes Green working group is simple: “This initiative is targeted to formalize a strong commitment by Kiawah’s major entities, stakeholders and the entire community to continue our strong focus on environmental stewardship, sustainability and advancement of eco-friendly public and private practices across the entire island. While being fiscally responsible and understanding the need for operational efficiency in the different entities, the Town would like to encourage the different entities on the island and the entire community to have the ambition to become a leader in the implementation of projects and measures to help protect our island’s environment, nature and beach and marsh barriers. By doing so, we all can help to mitigate the negative influences from rising sea levels and potential new weather patterns.”
Heidingsfelder noted that this initiative is not an official government “committee” in the sense that they have a deadline to address these issues. He said that he expects this to take several years.
“We will have to work with several entities to get a network of charging stations, and we’ll have to work with several HOAs to get them approved,” he explained. “We have a team exploring the cost of the EV stations and how we could possibly utilize some federal funds.”
Heidingsfelder added that the charging stations could cost around $50,000 each. He said that he knows that there are currently more than 100 electric vehicles on the island, but that he believes more people would be open to purchasing an EV if they knew there was a convenient location to charge it.
Some of the non-emergency vehicles on Kiawah that he and the other members of the Kiawah Goes Green group hope to convert to EVs are for beach patrol, turtle patrol and the operations for chairs/umbrellas. They are also looking at operating vehicles for the Town, KICA, the resort and the Kiawah Conservancy.
He noted that he knows that getting contractors on board to use battery-powered equipment for things like landscaping will be challenging at first. “I am hopeful that in the years to come, it will be standard.”
He said they are looking at compostable materials to use at many of the area restaurants instead of plastics, and that they hope to work with the ARB on getting solar panels approved for some of the newer developments, especially Andell West.
But probably one of the biggest issues on Kiawah Island is when homeowners and guests mix their trash in with recyclables. “Recycling bins are not for trash. We need to do a major education campaign to teach people what is and what is not recyclable. When trash is mixed in with recyclables, they have to bring the whole load to the landfill because it is contaminated. It’s horrible. There is currently a whole condo community that is not being picked up for recyclables because their loads were continuously mixed with trash. The recycling contractor just stopped picking up there altogether,” he said.
Erin Pomrenke, the Town’s communication manager, will help Kiawah Goes Green get their word out to the community.
“There is so much more we can do,” Heidingsfelder continued. “We could keep this initiative going and really become the leaders for going green in Charleston County.”
Heidingsfelder said the group is looking into getting information online — or maybe even getting a website — but for now, he said to email him for more information at mheidingsfelder@kiawahisland.org.
