Posted on: Wednesday, November 10, 2004

City still sorting out recycling plan

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Plans to launch O'ahu's first islandwide household recycling program this month are in jeopardy because of unresolved questions about how the program should operate and how it could affect workers.

The city has dropped off thousands of blue carts at Central O'ahu homes so residents can begin filling them with cans, bottles, plastic and paper, and Mayor Jeremy Harris has begun airing TV announcements about the program.

The program is to expand across the island over seven months, but it is unclear who will collect the materials and sort them, and there's still no firm date for collection to begin.

The city faces off in court today with the union that represents city garbage workers. Also, a company slated to process the recyclables is being evicted from state property on Sand Island.

The United Public Workers union contends in its lawsuit that the program can't start unless city agreements with the union are updated.

Officials still haven't decided if city workers should collect recyclables or a private company should, and the union has concerns about either method. Privatizing the program would violate an existing union agreement and could lead to a loss of union jobs, according to documents filed with the suit.

If city workers are used, the plan is to operate the program out of a new baseyard in Waipahu, instead of the seven baseyards around the island that are used for garbage collection.

Moving workers around could disrupt a seniority-based system that decides who will work overtime and what collection routes they prefer, according to the union's court filings.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa declined to comment on details of the suit, but said recycling should begin as quickly as possible. "The purpose of recycling is to reduce our dependence on the landfill, which has been an important sustainability issue and top priority of the Harris administration," she said.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Transportation is evicting Island Recycling from property on Sand Island where the recyclables were to be sorted and processed. The company will have six months to move, department spokesman Scott Ishikawa said.

The company improperly encroached on adjacent properties, failed to obtain building permits for several structures, and was cited by health officials for pollution violations, according to letters from the state. Some of the problems came to light after a serious fire scorched the Sand Island property in April.

Company president James Nutter could not be reached yesterday, and Costa could not say where the firm would move.

City recycling coordinator Suzanne Jones said the disputes haven't stopped the distribution of recycling carts to the neighborhoods that are to be included in the first phases of the program.

About 25,000 carts have been dropped off in Mililani, Wahiawa, La'ie, Hau'ula, Kahuku, Kahalu'u and Waialua. Another 25,000 will be distributed before the end of December, in Kailua, Kane'ohe and Waimanalo, Jones said.