Recycling program off to good start in Mililani
By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Some Mililani residents are still a little confused about what to put out on their curbside on recycling days, but city recycling coordinator Suzanne Jones is generally pleased with the first five weeks of the city's four-month pilot program.
For the most part, companies that have been handling the yard waste and recyclables collected by the city say residents have been good about separating trash from their recyclables.
But plastic bags, scraps of paper and aluminum cans tossed with the yard clippings are doubling the city's costs for getting rid of green waste.
"You can tell there's still some confusion going on," said Lorra Naholowa'a, general manager of Hawaiian Earth Products, which has been contracted by the city to compost the yard waste.
Nearly 10,000 Mililani households are more than a quarter of the way through the pilot curbside recycling program. The results will be used to design an islandwide program that could be implemented as soon as next year, with the City Council's approval.
Under the pilot program, the city picks up yard clippings one week, and mixed recyclables — newspaper, plastic and glass — the next. Jones did not have a firm number of participants, but noted that more than half the residents of the Central O'ahu community had asked for an extra green recycling bin, while others have been using their regular gray trash bin for recycling.
Naholowa'a said the amount of green waste collected has been rising, from 39 tons the first week to 60 tons last week, and only a small percentage of it has been contaminated. Any paper or plastic mixed in with the yard clippings brings the city's cost for composting to $50 a ton, rather than $25 a ton.
"In order to save the taxpayers money, we need to get the stuff in clean," Naholowa'a said.
Mixed in with grass, hedge clippings and dead leaves, Hawaiian Earth Products employees have had to cull plastic bags, aluminum cans and bits of paper that may be household mail, raising labor costs significantly.
Jones said some Mililani residents had complained about not being able to use bags, because wet grass clumps and sticks to the bin, and some escapes when the bins are being emptied into the trucks. The city is looking to stock paper yard bags that can be composted along with the grass and leaves.
Jim Nutter, president of Island Recycling, which handles the recyclables collected by the city, also said it was too early to gauge participation after just two recycling collections. He said the first collection was greater, because people apparently had saved up newspapers and other products for the initial week.
The biggest challenge for his company is sorting the recyclables, since his company did not invest in a million-dollar plant to separate paper, glass, plastic and aluminum automatically.
"We're all doing hand separation right now," he said.
It takes about two weeks to separate a week's collection, so employees are working on recyclables constantly as they come in on alternating weeks, he said.
Concerns that glass would shatter and become embedded in the paper have been unfounded so far. A bigger problem has been other materials getting mixed into the aluminum cans when they are compacted in the collection trucks, Nutter said.
While he was concerned there would be yard clippings mixed in with the recyclables, very little of that has occurred.
"I was basically very pleased that the majority of people were able to catch on," he said.
Jones said her staff was still gathering data on participation, what color bins people are using, how full they are and whether they contain only the right recyclables.
Jones said residents had been calling and e-mailing with all sorts of constructive criticism, which will be useful as the city fine-tunes the project.
For instance, in a permanent program, the city might offer more choice and flexibility in bins, to accommodate those who do not have enough room for two bins, as well as those who would need more than two. Under the pilot program, residents with too much green waste can set it out on recycle days in both the green and gray bins.
The public complained about the city proposal earlier this year to reduce trash pickup to once a week, and participants in the pilot program have been calling about the "yuck factor" associated with keeping green waste around too long.
"When yard waste sits around for a little bit ... it starts the composting process right in the cart," Jones said.
Some Mililani residents have been using the gray bin for trash and green waste to keep the green recyclable bin cleaner.
Jones is as happy with the suggestions as she is with the people who have called to thank her.
"This is just what we needed," she said. "It's interesting what we hear from people."
Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.
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Residents urged to recycle Christmas trees, trash
Mililani residents are not the only ones being asked to recycle this holiday season.
With the garbage crews' only two holidays a year coming up on Christmas and New Year's Day, city recycling coordinator Suzanne Jones has come up with some helpful hints to help you cut down on your household waste to compensate for the missed trash collection or recycling collection for some Mililani residents:
• Recycle your Christmas tree. The trees can be set out with yard waste, which the city collects twice a month. Mililani residents will have to cut their trees into 3-foot lengths and trim branches so the trees will fall freely from their recycle bins. Residents can also drop off trees at any of the city's Refuse and Recycling Convenience Centers or composting facilities.
The state has discontinued its tree recycling program, so use curbside collection or look for a list of city collection sites. Condos and commercial buildings can arrange to haul trees directly to composting facilities with no tip fees, courtesy of the city.
• Recycle beverage containers from all the parties and the big corrugated cardboard boxes from all those super toys and gifts. The city has more than 85 community recycling bins around the island. Visit www.opala.org/recycling_at_home/what_n_where_recycle.html to find the location nearest you. (Mililani residents can follow curbside recycling guidelines.)
• Beware: Fireworks and garbage are a dangerous mix. Make sure your trash bin is closed and kept away from all fireworks activity.
• Buy environment-friendly "Green Gifts" made from recycled goods — from wrapping paper and greeting cards to kayaks, ski jackets, glassware and home decor. A copy of the California Department of Conservation Green Guide is available at www.bottlesandcans.com.
— Advertiser Staff
