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State Rep. Colleen Meyer remembers when bottling companies in Hawaii used bottle deposits to entice cola and beer drinkers to recycle. Mainland lobbyists
challenge bottle billBy Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinBack then, bottlers of products such as Coca-Cola, Primo beer and Diamond Head soda charged consumers a 2-cent deposit and refunded the money upon return.
Back then, movies cost 10 cents, and 2 cents was a big incentive to return bottles, she said.
But that was a half century ago, and times have changed, said Meyer, Republican representative for the district from Laie to Heeia.
"We live in a throwaway world, we can't go back to an era we don't live in anymore," said Meyer, who is worried that a bottle bill moving in the Legislature would be a hassle to consumers, businesses and the state. She said she prefers letting the people vote on the idea through referendum.
With state recycling numbers at 24 percent, however, the bottle bill is seen by supporters as a recycling incentive.
House Bill 1256 H.D. 1 would charge consumers a refundable 5- or 15-cent fee for aluminum, plastic and glass beverage containers, depending on the size. It would also charge an additional 2 cents to defray administrative costs.
The bill has the support of two of Meyer's colleagues on the House Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, which earlier approved the bill.
They're challenging their biggest opponent, the bottling industry, by giving it what it's asked for: more time to come up with a better, cheaper alternative.
"This was the first hearing where I've seen mainland lobbyists come in full scale to ask us to wait, hold off, don't do anything," said Cynthia Thielen (R, Kailua).
"It's a tactic that they have used in other states," she said.
New language to the bill would repeal it, should the bottling industry provide a better solution before the next legislative session, said fellow committee member Rep. Hermina Morita (D, E. Maui-N. Kauai).
The House Finance Committee was scheduled to make a decision on the bill today.
"The concept is to go ahead with the legislation and hold (the bottling industry's) feet to the fire," Thielen said. "Let's see if they're really going to come up with an unbiased solution that will clean up Hawaii's environment."
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