"It makes sense," said Senate Vice President Donna Mercado Kim, D-14th (Halawa, Moanalua, Kamehameha Heights), who has introduced a bill to change the law. "I know the consumers out there are frustrated."

The beverage container law, approved by the state Legislature to promote recycling and reduce the amount of trash dumped at landfills, has gotten off to an uneven start in its first full month. Many consumers have complained of long lines and other inconveniences at redemption centers, while businesses have told of the hassle of separating and storing bottles and cans.

Ozzie Garcia, who is retired from the military, said more people would probably recycle if they could do it at the store. "I would definitely do it," he said after shopping Friday night at the Pali Safeway. "People now, you know, they are just throwing it away."

Supermarkets and other retailers opposed the law and no store has volunteered to become a redemption center. Stores are required to have redemption centers by July if there are no other centers within two miles, but right now, only a few stores in the Kahala area would be at risk of being forced if no new redemption centers open.

Ed Thompson, executive director of the Hawai'i Food Industry Association, which represents supermarkets and other retailers, said they do not want to have recycling or redemption going on inside the stores and have limited space outside for the reverse vending machines used at redemption centers. He said many stores are still researching the expense of participating.

"We're getting the blame. Retailers are the easiest ones to be attacked," Thompson said. "But it's not that easy."

Sheryl Toda, director of corporate communications at Foodland, said store operators have to consider the additional expense along with sanitation concerns, space constraints and the impact on customers. "While we support the state's efforts to make recycling as easy as possible for the entire community, we believe there are other sites that could more appropriately serve as redemption centers," she said.

Gov. Linda Lingle, who also opposed the law, has said that it is obviously not working well but will leave it up to the Legislature to make any corrections. Republicans have proposed moving the program from the state Department of Health to the counties and exempting bars and restaurants that have recycling programs. Others have suggested exempting airlines and cruise ships that do recycling.

The House and Senate leaders on the environment, Rep. Hermina Morita, D-14th (Kapa'a, Hanalei), and Sen. J. Kalani English, D-6th (E. Maui, Moloka'i, Lana'i), will hold an informational briefing on the law Tuesday. Morita is disappointed that retailers have not gotten involved but, like English, believes it will take more time to identify the flaws.

"It's going to take a while to weed out the problems, but we need the participation of the retailers," said Morita, chairwoman of the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee. "They need to look at it as a marketing opportunity."

Reynolds Recycling, which operates most of the redemption centers, has reported salvaging more than 7 million containers this month. Rolloffs Hawai'i, another recycler, has collected more than 1 million containers from its redemption centers and mobile redemption trucks. Rolloffs has been experimenting with a truck outside Daiei in Kailua this month. In February, Rolloffs will start a two-month trial with mobile trucks outside three Times Supermarkets to test consumer response.

An estimated 800 million bottles and cans are sold in Hawai'i each year.

Laura Lott, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said the department has been receiving fewer complaints from consumers as people adjust to the law. "I think we're very fortunate that the public has been patient and is very supportive of recycling," Lott said.