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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, May 13, 2002

HAWAI'I'S ENVIRONMENT
Recycling system will vary by area

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Columnist

When the new bottle bill takes effect in January 2005, it may behave differently depending on where you live.

The bill provides for a 5-cent refundable deposit on plastic, metal and glass beverage containers.

Urban areas — and that mainly means the most developed parts of O'ahu — must have a redemption location within two miles of any place that sells beverages.

Rural areas have the leeway to place container redemption centers and machines at centralized locations, rather than keeping them near places where beverages are sold.

"On the Big Island, redemption centers may be at refuse transfer stations," said Suzanne Jones, recycling coordinator for the City and County of Honolulu.

Maui is looking at establishing sites that will accept a wider range of materials than just drink containers.

In some urban areas, stores might have machines right outside, or in the parking lot, that give people a receipt when they stuff bottles and cans into it. The receipts can then be converted to cash or used to make purchases inside the stores.

But in some areas, instead of individual store recycling facilities, there might be community redemption centers.

Honolulu plans to expand its existing recycling centers at schools, and to give people the option of donating their refunds to the school to help finance school programs.

The bottle bill, which passed the Legislature this year over the objections of the food and beverage industry, provides for a flexible system under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Health. It will take a while to set up, which accounts for the 2 1/2 year delay before it takes effect.

Hawai'i's system is different from those in some other states in that it's not run by beverage distributors. In some Mainland areas Pepsi vendors only accept Pepsi bottles, and Budweiser distributors only accept Bud cans.

In Hawai'i, all sites will accept all brands.

The recycling bill is financed in two ways. The nickel-per-unit deposit money from unrecycled containers and distributors also will pay a penny per container, which is used to pay for redemption. If recycling rates are particularly high — meaning most of the deposit money is returned to consumers — the fee goes up to 1.5 cents to help pay program costs.

Under the language of the bottle bill, the nickel consumers pay is exempt from the 4 percent general excise tax, so store computers will be programmed to tax the drink's retail cost but not the deposit.

Jones said she expects very high recycling rates in Hawai'i, and figures roadsides should get cleaner quickly.

"People are anxious to get started. It's going to have a big impact on litter reduction," she said.

Jan TenBruggencate is The Advertiser's Kaua'i bureau chief and its science and environment writer. Reach him at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.