Mililani homes
must recycleResidents will assume
the role of guinea pigs
for a mandatory curbside
trash project
About 11,000 households in Mililani will become the "guinea pigs" in the city's mandatory curbside recycling project, which will start on a four-month trial basis in November.
"We really want to learn from the Mililani residents how we can take this program islandwide," Suzanne Jones, the city's recycling coordinator, said yesterday while announcing the pilot program.
Mililani residents will be asked to place in front of their homes glass, newspapers, aluminum and plastic for recycling twice a month in either their current 96-gallon garbage bin or in a separate recycling bin provided by the city.
Residents will have to separate their recyclable items from the general trash, but all the recycling items can be placed in one bin -- no sorting required.
Homes will keep their current general trash pickup dates, while green waste will be picked up on alternating weeks with the recyclable materials.
Mililani resident Debbie Lee has a sister in New Jersey who recycles all the time, but she's not sure she'll be able to get her family to do the same here.
"I know it's good for the environment, but just to get the family motivated," Lee said. "I know it's going to be extra work."
The program is scheduled to begin Nov. 3 with the first pickup of recycled glass, newspapers, aluminum and plastic slated for the following week.
It is a program similar to one proposed last spring but that the City Council scrapped for a number of reasons including criticism of a new $8-a-month charge for a second day of general trash pickup.
Instead of giving the green light for an islandwide project, the Council approved funding for a smaller pilot project.
Mayor Jeremy Harris said, "We recognize that recycling our waste is the right thing to do environmentally, and it's also the right thing to do economically."
The pilot project has the blessing of the City Council, which passed a resolution last month urging the administration to move ahead with it.
"The clock is ticking on our landfill out in Waimanalo Gulch," said Council Public Works Chairman Mike Gabbard. "Recycling is not just a feel-good idea, it's an absolute essential."
Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz, who represents Mililani Mauka, said that the pilot project is a good first step, but he was disappointed that townhomes in the area will not be participating because many of them have private trash pickup. "Shouldn't townhomes recycle, too?"
The idea is to have residents put their recyclables into the trash cans after the first day of general trash pickup.
"What we're offering to these families is an option of getting another can if they feel they need one. We would encourage them to use the 96-gallon gray can that they have now."
Harris said that the additional cans would be provided free during the pilot project. "They'll probably get to keep it when the program moves forward, one of the benefits of being the guinea pigs."
Cans are scheduled to be distributed Oct. 13.
Trash bins will be checked to make sure that recycled materials are not mixed in with regular trash.
Mililani Mauka resident Deren Oshiro said: "It sounds like a good idea. ... As far as providing an opportunity for homeowners to just take that kind of rubbish out to their curb and having it disposed, I think it's convenient."
But Oshiro said he hopes that recycling will be in addition to the regular trash pickup and not in place of it.
Lee said she hopes the city will conduct a lot of community education to motivate and enlighten families about recycling.
Jones said cities across the country are going into "commingled" recycling collection systems. "They do keep the cost down, and they encourage very high participation rates.
The $270,000 budgeted for the pilot project will pay for community surveys, education programs to get the word out about the program to residents, and paying private recycling contractors.
Some of the information the city would like to learn is how much recycled material will be put out, how much waste is generated on the second general trash pickup and whether a fee should be charged.
Halfway through the project, some of the operations will change with residents asked to try just once-a-week -- instead of twice -- regular garbage pickup.
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Curbside recycling pilot
>> Mauka section: Refuse collections Mondays and Thursdays; green waste collection Tuesdays, the first and third weeks of the month; recyclables collection Tuesdays, the second and fourth weeks of the month.
project collection scheduleThis area includes Mililani Mauka and the northern end of Mililani, generally north of Kuahelani Avenue.
>> Middle section: Refuse collections Tuesdays and Fridays; green waste collection Wednesdays, the first and third weeks; recyclable collection Wednesdays, the second and fourth weeks.
This area is generally the center of Mililani town, between Kuahelani Avenue and Meheula Parkway and southeast of Kamehameha Highway and Meheula Parkway.
>> South section: Refuse collections Wednesdays and Saturdays; green waste collection Thursdays, the first and third weeks; recyclable collection Thursdays, the second and fourth weeks.
This area is generally southwest of Kamehameha Highway and Meheula Parkway and includes an area west of there, which is south of the Mililani Golf Club and near Mililani Market Place.
Source: City and County of Honolulu
