Posted on: Monday, February 17, 2003

EDITORIAL
Climate is right for curbside recycling

In 1990, Honolulu experimented with its first curbside recycling program. Once a week, selected Windward communities set out their newspapers, plastics, glass and aluminum cans in bins or bags. A private hauler, hired by the city, collected the recyclables, and voila.

But a year or so later, the city abandoned the program, citing low participation and high costs. There was widespread disappointment, particularly as several Mainland cities were operating successful curbside programs.

It's time to give curbside recycling on O'ahu a second chance. And so we're delighted to hear about Mayor Jeremy Harris' plan for monthly residential recycling pickups and the automated pickup of green waste.

Overall, the climate for recycling seems much more favorable today. Many businesses recycle their waste, and environmentally minded residents haul their recyclables to community collection sites. It makes sense to expand to curbside recycling while the iron is hot.

Granted, the program is only estimated to give a modest boost to present efforts, increasing Honolulu's recycling rate from 32 to 38 percent.

But there are greater rewards down the line, such as establishing a strong recycling culture. It's like litter campaigns in the days when folks used to throw their trash into the streets. Once rubbish bins were placed at convenient public locations, people got into the habit of using them.

And let's face it, we have a waste crisis on our hands. Space at the Waimanalo Gulch landfill is shrinking fast, and alternatives haven't exactly taken off. Islanders have to get into the habit of analyzing their trash and separating the paper from the plastic from the glass.

As Harris said in his State of the City address, "If we are to make our island more sustainable, we have to change from a pattern of consumption and waste to one of conservation and reuse."