EDITORIAL
Due diligence needed for recycling proposal

The city's long-stalled curbside recycling program suffered another disappointing delay but one that involves necessary scrutiny of the apparent leader in the race for the contract.

The company second in the running, Island Recycling, perhaps had its own interest at heart when it lodged an appeal questioning the qualifications of the lowest bidder, Rolloffs Hawai'i/BLT Enterprises. City officials have their own independent inquiry into Rolloffs' qualifications, and they are right to apply due diligence. The company has been a fixture in the Island disposal business but is a relative newcomer to recycling.

Of course, taxpayers would love to see some form of the Rolloffs plan come to pass: The company has offered to pay the city $5 per ton of recyclables collected, while other bidders propose charging the city anywhere from $33 to $88 per ton.

As attractive as the Rolloffs offer sounds, the city must be sure that the service is sustainable. It would be frustrating, and ultimately expensive, to charge out of the starting gate only to be forced to change course. The fits and starts of the state's fledgling recycling program underscore the need for careful prelaunch planning.

City officials are doing the right thing in carefully examining the contract to arrive at an informed decision on the best way to proceed. And, given the accelerating demand for recycling services evidenced by a rising redemption rate, they should do so fairly quickly, without allowing the appeal to degenerate into prolonged and self-serving bickering among the contenders.