StarBulletin.com

Save loose labels to get bottle deposit returns


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POSTED: Tuesday, March 23, 2010

QUESTION: In your Feb. 23 column you said, “;Certified redemption centers have to accept all types of empty deposit beverage containers, but only pay the full refund value for containers that bear a valid Hawaii refund value.”; Safeway's brand of bottled water comes with a paper label barely glued to the bottle. Once you get that label slightly wet, after you put the bottle in a cooler, for example, it comes off. What can we do to ensure we get proper credit for bottles like this? Also, at Christmas 2008, I purchased a special-edition brew from Budweiser, clearly labeled “;HI5,”; and was charged the deposit. When I went to recycle it at a redemption center, an extremely rude woman said, “;We don't take that.”; When I asked, “;Why not?”; her response was, “;We just don't!”; I kept that bottle and, after reading your column, took it to another redemption center, where it was accepted. The employees at the first center have always been extremely rude, but it turns out, they also don't follow the law. Is there any place or way to report this?

ANSWER: In answer to your first question, save the label.

If you anticipate a problem with the label falling off, just remove it, then place it inside the empty bottle before taking it to be redeemed, advised Jennifer Tosaki, coordinator with the state Department of Health's Office of Solid Waste Management.

“;The consumer should make sure the label is easy to read when they place it back in the bottle,”; she cautioned. “;The label shouldn't be folded or crumpled in a manner that would make it difficult to read or identify.”;

Regarding your complaint about the employee who refused to accept your recyclable bottle, Tosaki said to call the Health Department at 586-4226 or go to the Web site www.hi5deposit.com for contact and other information.

You can file a complaint about rude treatment by employees.

“;Complaints about rude employees are forwarded to the company operating the redemption center,”; Tosaki said.

The department will request that the company follow up with complainants directly, then inform the department of the resolution.

QUESTION: Can you please tell us senior citizens what our recourse is without confronting new neighbors who leave their trash bins out on a permanent basis? Now that there are two more bins, three of them are out on the sidewalk all the time. Aren't these bins supposed to be taken out right before pickup and taken in right after pickup? They are such eyesores.

ANSWER: The rule is to place the trash containers curbside by 6 a.m. on the day of collection, but not before 6 p.m. the previous day.

They are not to be left out on noncollection days and should be kept on your property, unless special permission is granted by the city Department of Environmental Services (because the property is too steep, for example).

Call the nearest refuse collection yard to report the problem: Honolulu (Foster Village to Hawaii Kai), 832-7840; Kapaa (Kailua, Temple Valley, Kaneohe, Waimanalo), 262-7298; Koolauloa (Kahuku to Kahaluu), 293-5657; Pearl City (Pearl City, Waipahu, Waipio Gentry, Royal Kunia, Halawa to Makakilo, Kapolei), 455-9644; Wahiawa (Wahiawa, Kunia Camp, Mililani, Waipio Acres), 621-5241; Waialua (Waialua, Haleiwa, Sunset), 637-4795; Waianae (Makaha to Honokai Hale), 697-1178.