Recycler says it can handle islandwide plan for $13 million
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
The only bidder for an islandwide recycling program is offering to do the job for $13.05 million a year for five years. Honolulu Disposal Service Inc. was the only company to bid to collect mixed recyclables from homes and process them.
But it's unclear whether that contract will be awarded. The city also is weighing another plan in which city workers would collect recyclables and transfer them to a private firm to process the material. Environmental services officials will take about a week to analyze the two plans.
The city earlier this year accepted bids to process recyclables islandwide, and Island Recycling Inc. was the low bidder, offering to take $36.50 per ton. Ho-nolulu Resource Recovery offered to do the job for $68 per ton.
City environmental services director Frank Doyle has said the entire recycling program — with the city collecting the recyclables — would cost about $5 million per year, including the cost of collection carts and other equipment and hiring 23 more city workers.
Island Recycling Inc., which processes material from the pilot curbside recycling program for 11,000 homes in Mililani, has been under scrutiny since an April 30 fire at its Sand Island site.
Carroll Cox, president of EnviroWatch Inc., has said that the company's yard hasn't complied with city building codes and was cited by state health officials for allegedly polluting a canal and lacking a water discharge permit.
The company also owes about $100,000 in back rent and electricity to the state for the Sand Island facility.
City Councilman Rod Tam, who heads the Public Works Committee in charge of waste-disposal issues, has said he wants to prevent Island Recycling from getting an expanded contract. Other council members also have some concerns.
Island Recycling says it has most of the permits cited by Tam and Cox and will clear other permit and citation issues. City officials have said they expect the company to resolve outstanding issues before allowing it to handle an islandwide program.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
