Hearing today on city recycling plan

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

A controversial City Council plan to control how the city expands its curbside residential recycling program will have its first public hearing today, but Mayor Jeremy Harris has warned that too many limitations could kill islandwide recycling.

A bill signed by four council members would forbid the city from linking any user fees to the program, such as charging households for a second day of rubbish pickup per week once recycling begins.

Harris has not said whether he wants to link a fee to the service, but said fees can be a crucial incentive for people to separate recyclable bottles, plastics and newspaper from rubbish.

An earlier plan for islandwide recycling included an $8 monthly fee for second-day trash pickup but was rejected.

The council would have to approve any fees before they're imposed. Council members can simply vote against any fees they don't want, rather than try to impose a fee restriction up front, Harris said.

But Public Works and Economic Development Committee chairman Rod Tam said he also has concerns about how the city's recycling pilot project in Mililani is working. The $270,000 program started in November and serves about 11,000 households. No user fees are charged.

It's better to explore any problems now before dramatically increasing the number of households affected, Tam said.

"There is a great desire by the City Council to involve the public," he said. "If they're not willing and capable or participating in a practical manner, then recycling is just not going to work."

Tam said he's concerned that recyclable materials are ending up in a landfill or being burned in the city's H-Power plant. Broken glass also appears to be contaminating some paper and making it impossible to recycle, he said.

A resolution proposed by Tam and council budget chairwoman Ann Kobayashi requests an audit of the Mililani program to be completed by mid-April, before any expansion could go forward.

And another bill would require city agencies to recycle more. City government recycling is done on a voluntary basis, but the bill would make it mandatory.

Council members will consider the bills and resolution in two special meetings today at City Hall, scheduled for 9 and 10 a.m. respectively, in the committee meeting room. The public may observe and comment on the legislation.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.