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Public school
trash bins
not for public

Question: I saw a man in a Taurus dump four to five Mufi Hannemann signs into the Dumpster at Aiea Elementary School at 6:40 a.m. Monday, Nov. 22. It says on the Dumpster that it's for school use only, and cites a city ordinance regarding illegal dumping. What should I have done?

Answer: Next time, call police at 911 with details, said Maj. Bryan Wauke, of the Honolulu Police Department's Pearl City District.

Apparently, some people think it's OK to just dump their trash in school trash bins.

But school Dumpsters are not for use by the general public, according to the state Department of Accounting and General Services. Department of Education officials say that they have been having problems with people dumping their junk in school receptacles.

Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Mayor-elect Mufi Hannemann said the campaign staff had asked volunteers to take down all signs the week following the election and put them in storage.

The person you saw obviously didn't get the message. "We regret that it happened," spokeswoman Elisa Yadao said.

Q: Can you please clarify the 5-cent bottle and can deposit fee? Can merchants charge us a deposit for all soda cans, even those without the "Hi 5c" marking, or will all cans sold in Hawaii have that marking?

A: Containers that are subject to the fee hold soft drinks, beer, juice, water, tea and sports drinks. They should all be marked "Hi 5c" if they are subject to the recycling charge of a 1-cent nonrefundable handling fee and a 5-cent refundable deposit fee.

Temporarily, during this transition period, merchants are allowed to use "Hi 5c" stickers if the cans haven't been individually stamped. Consumers can't get refunds on the 5-cent deposits until January, after the state Department of Health sets up redemption centers.

According to the department, beverage containers NOT subject to the recycling fees are containers above 64 ounces, such as 2-liter bottles; wine, spirits, milk, syrups, concentrated mix, powder mix and frozen drinks; paper, cardboard or pouch-style containers; and beverages defined by the Food and Drug Administration as a drug, medical food or infant formula.

Call 586-4226 if you have questions about a particular product.

Need an ID?

The State Identification Office in Honolulu will be open this Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., to offer more convenient hours to the public.

The office, usually open only on weekdays, is at 465 S. King St., Room 102. For information, call 587-3110.

Auwe

The white lines separating the lanes on King Street, coming from Umi Street to Mokauea Street in Kalihi, are in dire need of repainting. In some areas the lines are not visible at all. This situation needs correcting now that the rainy season is upon us. -- Concerned Citizen

We passed this on to the city Department of Customer Services, but in the future, just call 523-4381.

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