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Kokua Line
Question: Regarding the recycling of aluminum cans: why is it that in Hawaii, they give between 25-32 cents a pound, compared to Los Angeles, which gives $1.05 a pound? Hawaii could use
recycling incentivesAnswer: The reason is that California has deposit legislation to encourage recycling, those in the industry said.
"California has a complex support system for recycling and (a) deposit is just part of it," said Suzanne Jones, the city's recycling coordinator.
When you purchase beverages in California, you have to plunk down a deposit. When you return the container, such as an aluminum can, not only do you get your deposit back, you also get back "the innate value of the material," explained Jim Nutter, president of Island Recycling. Here, you only get paid for "the innate value of the aluminum."
Last week, Nutter said he was paying 32 to 36 cents a pound for aluminum cans.
"The price just went down three cents," he said. "The market is weakening, so it may go down a little bit more."
One of his competitors, who didn't want to be identified, said while "there is a big price difference" between Hawaii and California, "that doesn't mean the dealers are making big money."
He said prices are "pretty much" set by aluminum companies on the mainland. Locally, "We have to factor" the cost of freight in.
"Even if California didn't have the subsidy (deposit fee), there would be a disparity in price because of the freight," he said.
Acknowledging the shipping factor and the inability to process materials within the state, Jones said her office is looking to see whether some kind of financial assistance can be provided for shipping materials out of state.
To expand recycling on Oahu "and keep it working successfully, we're going to have to lend some additional financial support to all the materials that we're trying to ship off the island for recycling," she said.
Jones said she's working with big importers in the food industry and with shipping companies. "But I don't have any answer yet," she said.
Nutter said he personally would like to have some kind of deposit legislation for aluminum cans in Hawaii. Currently, there is an "advance disposal fee" on glass bottles, in which every glass container coming into Hawaii is assessed 1 cents per container, he said.
"We get some of that money to help ship out the glass bottles, because there is no value to that glass."
If such a fee were assessed for aluminum cans, "then we could increase that value (of the cans) to 90 cents or a dollar per pound. Then we could increase the recycling rate on aluminum cans to, say, 50 percent to 95 percent. But the price is what determines the return amount."
Mahalo
At 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 24, I rode the Liliha Puunui bus #248. TheBus company should be very proud of driver Vernon Ahmad, who was so kind helping the elderly and handicapped and waiting for people rushing for the bus. He tells them to take their time so they won't get injured. I was so impressed I mentioned it to him and he said, "It's part of my job," and smiled. I hope some of his fellow drivers follow in his footsteps. -- L.Y.
Auwe
To whoever stole my new jacket from the Pearl Harbor Navy Commissary entrance. I had left it with my Navy Exchange shopping bag. -- C.N.C.
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