City to evaluate
recycling bids

Two methods are under consideration
for curbside pickup

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By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

City officials hope to take about a week to assess the bids for two ways of handling islandwide curbside recycling.

Under the methods, a company would:

>> Collect mixed recyclables at the curbside on Oahu and process them for resale. Under its bid submitted yesterday, Honolulu Disposal Service Inc. would charge the city $13 million a year for a five-year contract to handle curbside recycling for 140,000 Oahu homes with automated refuse pickup.

>> Process recyclables after city workers pick them up from the curbside. Island Recycling, the company that has handled the city's pilot curbside recycling project in Mililani, was the apparent low bidder to process recyclables only under a separate bid proposal last month.

Under the city's estimate, it would cost $5 million a year to have city workers and trucks pick up recyclables that would be processed by a private contractor.

No contract has been awarded.

The city administration sought bids for the two different methods for expanding curbside recycling of aluminum, glass, newspaper, cardboard and plastic islandwide to compare the costs, city recycling coordinator Suzanne Jones said yesterday.

City officials will make a recommendation to the City Council.

Mayor Jeremy Harris included $2.5 million for six months of islandwide recycling under the cost estimate for having the city handle pickup and a contractor process the recyclables.

The Council hasn't passed a final version of the budget and a number of members have raised questions about whether the city is ready to expand recycling islandwide.

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City & County of Honolulu:
www.co.honolulu.hi.us