Cayetano enacts bill to recycle bottles

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

Gov. Ben Cayetano yesterday signed into law a bill that would impose a nickel deposit on most bottles, cans and plastic beverage containers to encourage recycling.

The so-called bottle bill was hailed by environmentalists and others as a way to reduce the flow of rubbish in the state's landfills and keep such containers from littering Hawai'i's landscape.

The nickel deposit, which begins in 2005, would be refunded to consumers when the beverage containers are returned for recycling. The new law also phases in an additional charge of up to 1 1/2 cents per beverage container that the state Health Department would use to subsidize the recycling industry.

Critics have said the bill would increase beverage prices and be a burden on consumers and retailers. They also said it would do little to relieve landfill problems. Senate Minority Floor Leader Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua, Waimanalo), said he would work on eliminating the 1 1/2 cent tax.

But Cayetano said he believes Hawai'i residents would be willing to pay the extra cost.

"I think if you were to sit down with an average person on the street and ask that person if they would be willing to pay a fraction more so that we can keep the environment clean, I'm confident that the overwhelming majority of Hawai'i's people will say yes," he said. "Keeping the environment clean is never a break-even proposition. It always requires state investment."

Moloka'i High and Intermediate School eighth-grader Lindsey Keohuloa, among the students who asked Rep. Hermina Morita, D-12th (E. Maui, N. Kaua'i) to introduce the bill two years ago, was happy to see it become law.

"Usually ... you see a lot of cans on the side of the road," he said. "Now Hawai'i can be clean."