Posted on: Friday, August 20, 2004

EDITORIAL
Recycling program must be restarted

Honolulu's ambitious and long-overdue experiment in curbside recycling in Mililani has been derailed through a combination of union activism and the administration's failure to follow through on details.

It is imperative the two sides come to an agreement that will restart recycling in Mililani and, eventually, around the entire island of O'ahu.

The alternative is turning the program over to private hands, an option that has some appeal. However, making recycling a private operation will inevitably drive up costs, eliminate union jobs and leave the long-term future of recycling to uncertain market forces.

Honolulu has long prided itself on its garbage collection system. We are the envy of municipalities elsewhere.

There is no reason why this latest wrinkle in garbage collection, recycling, should not become part of the basic service the city offers to its residents.

Yes, there are costs involved. But the offset is the reduction of material that otherwise would have to go into our overburdened landfills and an increase in the overall sustainability of our island.

The Mililani experiment has been at least temporarily stopped because the city failed to come to an agreement with the union to extend the program after the original temporary arrangement with the UPW ran out.

It is the administration's move now. It should come to the table with the UPW and offer a common-sense proposal that will restart this important program within the confines of the union contract.

And the union should accept the reality that recycling will become a reality, with or without its cooperation.