Tough economic times may mean another record year for redeeming cans, bottles and other deposit-beverage containers.

Preliminary figures show the state's container redemption rate is averaging around 77 percent for the period beginning in April 2008 and ending in March of this year, said Karl Motoyama of the Department of Health's Office of Solid Waste Management.

That's higher than last year's record of 72 percent.

The bad economy has more people returning their empties to get their nickels, Motoyama and others involved with the program said. The state calculates the return based on its fiscal year, which ends in June.

The HI-5¢ deposit program adds six cents to the cost of a qualifying beverage container, with one penny as a fee to run the program and 5 cents a refundable deposit that consumers can get back if they return the container to a redemption center.

While state law calls for a half-cent increase if redemption rises above 70 percent, which it did last year and is expected to do again this year, the state health director can hold off on the increase. Last month, Motoyama said a half-cent increase in the container fee was likely. This week he said, "we hope not to increase the fee."

He added, "this would be an added burden to the taxpayer. This is something that we wouldn't want to do."

Motoyama said he and the state officials who run the program had been concerned that an increase would be needed just to keep the fund running and to keep paying back deposits. That was especially true when state lawmakers searching for savings had proposed tapping the deposit beverage fund of $3 million to $20 million.

Although the fund had risen to more than a $21 million balance in the first full year of operation in 2005, it has declined in recent years.

"We do collect a lot of revenue but most of that revenue goes out," he said. "There's not a lot of money sitting in the fund. We would need the money to be available so we can pay our bills."

RETURN RATE VARIES

In recent months, Motoyama said the fund balance has averaged $12 million to $15 million. The Legislature decided against taking money from the fund but passed a bill that would still cost the fund about $5 million to $7 million a year.

Under the measure, interest earned on the fund would be transferred into the general fund. In addition, administrative fees to the state Department of Accounting and General Services would not be waived, as in the past.

State recycling coordinator Jennifer Tosaki said her office aims to keep improving the recycling program, which has gone from 30 redemption centers in 2005 to 107 statewide.

Tosaki said the economy may be prompting more people to redeem their nickels, but the rates are fluctuating month to month.

"Some months there's really high redemption, other months they are really low," she said. "We're noticing quite a bit of up and down."

Motoyama said people still complain about some aspects of the redemption system, but in 2008, the state saw complaints drop by about 80 percent.

The final decision on whether to increase the fee must be made by Aug. 1.

RETAILERS SPARED

Meanwhile, Hawai'i's largest retailers won't have to collect empty bottles and redeem the 5-cent deposit to consumers under a proposal that had gained more legislative support than in previous years.

Retailers have successfully opposed any move that forces them to operate bottle redemption centers at the stores where people buy the beverages, while the Sierra Club's Hawai'i Chapter, state officials and others support it as a way to increase recycling.

State lawmakers gave initial approval to a plan (HB 574) that would have required retailers with interior space of more than 75,000 square feet, such as Costco, to become redemption centers but did not pass the measure.