Trash plan is like other cities'

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

In Tampa, Fla., suggestions about reducing curbside trash collections are considered "fighting words."

But in Austin, Texas, converting from twice-weekly collection to a "pay-as-you-throw" program has succeeded in its goal of diverting waste from the landfill and encouraging more recycling.

Throughout the Mainland, municipal curbside recycling programs are prevalent. Honolulu is now on the brink of joining their ranks.

The City Council is considering a proposal from Mayor Jeremy Harris that would eliminate one regular rubbish pickup a week and replace it with alternating green waste and curbside recycling collection. Residents who want the second regular trash pickup would have to pay $8 a month.

The recycling program would be offered to 160,000 residential households that currently have automated trash pickups. Another 80,000, primarily apartments, won't be affected.

Some of the recycled goods will be used locally, with crushed glass turned into "glasphalt" pavement, plastic into lumber, and wood waste and paper into cellulose insulation and hydraulic mulch, according to a city spokeswoman. Other recycled products will be shipped to the Mainland and Asia, where the market for recyclable material is strong.

Harris' proposal must be approved by the City Council, which could amend the program. So far, the council's chairman, Gary Okino, has suggested making the $8 monthly fee mandatory to enable residents to keep the twice-a-week garbage collection.

If approved, the recycling program could be implemented as early as July 1.

Although the city did not model its recycling program on any other municipal curbside recycling program, Harris' proposal shares common elements with cities across the Mainland — where some have weekly trash collection, some share receptacles for garbage and recyclables, and others charge fees depending on the amount of trash produced.

San Diego has a program that provides trash collection for no fee and is similar to the Honolulu mayor's proposal. The program in San Diego has a higher participation among residents than the 50 percent projected for O'ahu.

"Our trash is collected every week and recycling is once every two weeks," said Nicole Hall, supervising public information officer for the city of San Diego. About 80 percent of residents recycle, she said.

2nd bin in San Diego

The major difference is that San Diego's trash bins are smaller, holding 64 gallons to Honolulu's 96 gallons, but San Diego residents are given a separate bin for their recyclables.

A second wheeled bin would cost $70 in Honolulu. A second trash bin in San Diego runs $50.

In a clarification of details of Honolulu's proposal, Frank Doyle, Honolulu's acting director of environmental services, said the bins available for purchase can be used only for recycling and green waste and not as an additional garbage receptacle.

The city decided against providing a free recycling bin to each household because of the expense, he said. "We didn't want to put up the extra money for cans because we don't have it," he said.

The optional $8 fee for second-day collection moves Honolulu closer to programs around the country where user fees are determined by the amount of trash produced, Doyle said.

For instance, Austin began scaling back to weekly trash collection in the early 1990s when a "pay-as-you-throw" program was phased in.

Under this program, residents choose a 30-, 60- or 90-gallon receptacle and pay a monthly base rate of $11.75 to $17.25, depending on the bin size. If the trash doesn't fit into the container, residents can place $2 stickers on additional garbage bags, or they will be billed $4 for each bag without a sticker.

Jerry Hendrix, Austin's public information administrator, said there was some resistance when the city began phasing in the reduced collection schedule, but more a decade later the program has seen success.

Austin's progress

In one decade, the number of households increased by more than 30,000, and the amount of trash was reduced by almost 12,000 tons per year. Between 1991 and 2002, recycling rates jumped from just under 10 percent to almost 29 percent.

"Despite the growing number of households, we're taking significantly less trash to the landfill," Hendrix said. "I think that's the justification."

The city provides residents with 14-gallon recycling bins, which can be set out once a week. Yard trimmings are collected weekly, as well, Hendrix said.

For the most part, residents are able to fit their garbage into the receptacle they choose, with 76 percent using 60-gallon bins, 12.6 percent using the 30-gallon bins and 8.5 percent using the 90-gallon bins. Only 2.5 percent of residents pay for an additional receptacle, Hendrix said.

There is not a great demand for the extra garbage stickers, Hendrix said, pointing out that it would be cheaper to switch up to a larger garbage bin than use the stickers often. "People in Austin are pretty good about managing their trash," he said.

Doyle said that other municipalities with weekly trash collection have also been able to prevent fly, maggot and rodent infestation through educating people how to put out their garbage. He added, "The best thing we have going for us is the can," pointing out that the lids on Honolulu's bins are sealable to keep flies out.

At the request of Councilman Mike Gabbard, Doyle recently looked into Chicago's "blue bag" recycling program.

Color code in Chicago

In Chicago, residents are given two 90-gallon bins to hold trash and recyclables, which are sorted into different colored bags. All recyclable papers, plastics, glass and metals are discarded in blue bags, which are pulled out at the sorting centers and sent to recyclers, explained Al Sanchez, Chicago's Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation. The blue bags can be purchased where trash bags are sold.

"It makes it very convenient to recycle," Sanchez said. "You don't have to worry about sorting ... you just take it out with the regular trash."

About 25 percent of Chicago's trash is recycled, Sanchez said. "That is very good for a large industrial city like Chicago."

Chicago also provides weekly trash collection for no fee, but during seasons where more trash is produced, Sanchez said the city tries to send trucks out a second time to select neighborhoods.

The main concern is rodent control, he said. "As long as (the trash) is contained and we can pick it up once a week, we can keep a handle on our rodents."

Doyle, who said Honolulu hopes for higher recycling rates than Chicago's, noted that the blue bag program has led to contamination problems through the co-mingling of trash and recyclables. Chicago could end up moving to separate containers in the future, he said.

Fees in Tampa

In Tampa, residents pay $21.25 a month for solid waste service, which includes twice-weekly garbage collection, curbside recycling, yard waste collection and other services.

Tom McBride, director of Tampa's Solid Waste Department, said the fees cover the cost of the services, making the department self-sustaining.

McBride said the Tampa was not likely to consider cutting any of its trash pickups.

"Those are fighting words around here," he said, describing the complaints the city has received whenever it has tried to pick up trash only once during a holiday week. "People will not hold their garbage, particularly when they get into the hot and heavy weather.

I don't think that our rates are such that people would want to hold on to their garbage for a week."

The results of Tampa's 20-month-old curbside recycling service have been mixed, McBride said. Some 50 to 60 percent of households participate in some more affluent neighborhoods, while only 10 percent participate in some of the working class neighborhoods. Overall, about 25 to 30 percent of the city's residents recycle, while Hillsborough County as a whole has a 40 percent diversion rate.

However, McBride said that diverting waste from the landfill is not as pressing an issue in Tampa as it is in other areas, since the city's waste-to-energy plant can accommodate all the combustible garbage, meaning the city has to send only 20 percent of its trash to the landfill.

Reach Treena Shapiro at 525-8070, or tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.