EDITORIAL
Killing city curbside recycling was pointless

There we were, poised to catch up with America's environmentally savvy cities, when the City Council set back the clocks. It killed a curbside recycling program simply by not including it in the budget.

Any concerns the council had about the costs or logistics of the curbside recycling program are eclipsed by our concerns about O'ahu's ever-growing mountain of trash.

Recycling isn't just a feel-good exercise. It makes practical sense.

Analyze your trash and you'll find a lot of paper, aluminum, glass, plastic or organic waste, none of which needs to be landfill fodder.

Some O'ahu residents recognize that and have taken the initiative to do their own recycling. But we'll bet that most won't separate their trash voluntarily.

A county curbside recycling program would have provided that initiative. But the council took care of that.

And so to combat a throw-away culture that clearly is unsuitable for island living, we urge everyone to recycle as much waste as possible while continuing to demand curbside recycling.