Posted on: Saturday, November 6, 2004
Container deposit program off to slow start
| • | Frequently asked questions |
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
State health officials averaged about 50 calls a day this week from folks with questions about a new state law that allows stores to charge a nickel deposit on beverage containers.
That's down from the first day of the new fee — Nov. 1 — when 150 people complained, according to state Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo.
Meanwhile, many stores are waiting until all of their drinks have the new "HI 5" labels so they don't have to deal with charging one fee for a container without a label and another fee for one with a label.
To help build the recycling habit, the state Health Department and the state Department of Education are sponsoring the School Recycling Challenge.
The contest runs through Dec. 15. Students, parents and others take their beverage containers to designated recycling centers across the state and tell the staff to credit their bottles and cans to the public school of their choice.
Deputy Health Director Larry Lau said the contest also is designed to help give people incentive to recycle containers that don't have the "HI 5" label and can't be redeemed in January.
Schools must sign up with the state Health Department.
Forms and a list of recycling centers statewide are available at www.hawaii.gov/health.
Schools will compete for cash prizes of up to $10,000.
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| Frequently asked questions
Q. How come I'm paying more for my case of soda? A. In recent weeks, Hawai'i consumers began paying a penny more for each beverage container they buy. That non-refundable fee is being used by the state to set up a new container deposit system designed to encourage recycling and reduce litter. The state estimates that 800 million beverage containers are used in Hawai'i each year, but only about 20 percent are recycled. Q. But what does that mean to shoppers? A. The price of a case of soda that cost $6 on sale in September went up to $6.24 in October. The 24 cents (a penny a can) went to the state Health Department to set up this whole deposit program, collection and operation. And that fee will remain in place listed on store receipts as a "container fee." Beginning Nov. 1, customers who buy drinks in glass or plastic bottles and aluminum cans may be charged an extra nickel for each container, and that will appear on store receipts as "HI beverage deposit." So, that same case of soda will now cost $7.44. Q. Where does that extra $1.20 (5 cents each for 24 cans) go? A. The company that produced and distributed the drinks paid that fee to the state Health Department when it printed the special deposit label with "HI 5¢" on each container. The store that bought the drinks paid the distributor the nickel on each container. Then the consumer that bought the case paid the nickel fee to the store. Q. How do I get my $1.20 back? A. Save the specially labeled containers until Jan. 1, when the state plans to have in place a series of community redemption centers where consumers can take the containers to get the deposit money back. After Jan. 1, stores that sell the containers must post signs that show the location of the nearest redemption centers. Q. What if I do the new city curbside recycling and throw the containers in the blue bins when they are collected? A. Then you don't get your nickels back but you do recycle. City recycling coordinator Suzanne Jones said the deposit fees that the city gets will be used to reduce the amount of taxpayer money used to run the city recycling program. Q. What else should I know? A. Only the containers with the special "HI 5¢" label will require customers to pay the extra nickel. By Jan. 1, all containers are required to have the deposit labels. Don't crush the containers because the redemption centers will need to read the labels. The new fees don't apply to 2-liter bottles and bigger. Q. Which drinks are included? A. Nonalcoholic drinks except for milk, including soda, water, juice, tea and coffee. Some alcoholic drinks: beer, wine coolers but not wine. Q. Do I have to pay the general excise tax on top of these new fees? A. No. The container and the deposit are exempt from the tax, so only the cost of the drink is taxed. |
