Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Recycling can continue if truck is full

Question: On Saturday, June 3, I went to recycle cans and bottles at the recycling truck in Haleiwa. I was told the truck was full for the past two days, and they did not know when a truck was coming to replace it. I know we are in the country, and most of the time we might be last on the list to get things done by the state, but we pay taxes, also. Isn't the state paying these contractors to pick up our recyclables? Are we paying these contractors to sit there and turn people away because they cannot supply an empty truck?

Answer: Reynolds Recycling, which owns and operates that container redemption site, told the state Department of Health that the truck was temporarily full that morning.

Despite that, Reynolds said it "continued to accept and pay for noncommercial deposit beverage container loads by bagging and storing them outside the truck container," said Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo.

If you want to pursue your complaint, call the department at 586-4226 during business hours.

The Health Department, which oversees the container recycling/redemption program, "actively responds to public complaints about specific sites," Okubo said.

The Haleiwa site was scheduled for a trailer switch on Friday, June 2, but that did not happen until 11 a.m. the next day because of traffic slowdowns caused by freeway maintenance and accidents, she said.

Following your complaint, a Health Department inspector visited the Haleiwa site last Tuesday to make sure it was operating according to certification requirements, she said.

Certified operators, like Reynolds, receive a 2- to 3-cent handling fee to cover operational costs for each deposit container collected, as well as the 5-cent per container deposit refund paid to recyclers.

Okubo said operators receive payment of the handling fee only after they have proved that the deposit containers have been shipped or sent to a source for recycling.

In general, she said, the Health Department "is very concerned about improving customer service at all redemption locations."

To that end, it recently awarded $3 million to recyclers to improve and add redemption sites.

Part of those funds was given to Reynolds Recycling for a proposal to improve its communication systems, Okubo said.

The goal is to keep the company better informed as to when trucks need to be replaced, thus allowing operations to run more efficiently and avoid the potential for site closures, Okubo said.

Auwe

To the homeless man who insisted on lying down on a bus stop bench after I asked him to allow me to sit because I walk with a cane. People of this community, like myself, aid the homeless via various charitable contributions throughout the year. The least they could do is show their appreciation by reciprocating the courtesy. -- Michael Nomura