---

Hawaii’s beverage
container recycling law
can work if it’s fixed

In recent months there has been a lot on criticism about Hawaii's beverage container law. Stores, recyclers, the state, legislators and even consumers have been blamed for the problems and difficulties in recycling beverage containers.

But let's be honest with each other. The real blame needs to be directed at the law itself. It was poorly drafted and set up a system that from the outset was flawed. The state Department of Health is now trying to make the best of a well intentioned, but poorly crafted law.

We can understand the problem with Hawaii's beverage container law by looking at arrangements in other states. Most of the 10 states that have mandated container deposits recognize that recycling should be a simple transaction between a grocery store and a consumer. When consumers come into the store, they pay the deposit on their bottles and cans. They get their full deposit refunded when they return the bottles and cans to the store.

Deposits from cans and bottles not returned are used by the stores to pay for the recycling program, whether it be purchasing reverse vending machines, hiring extra staff, designating extra space for storage or ensuring the stored containers are clean and sanitary.

In Hawaii, the law entangles the state in this recycling web by mandating that stores send the 5-cent deposits plus a non-refundable 1-cent handling fee to the state. These funds go into a state bank account that is then used to contract with counties and recyclers to set up redemption centers where the public can redeem their bottles and cans for cash. This has resulted in a situation where there are not enough centers open, and those that are open are understaffed, making it inconvenient for people to return their "empties."

Concurrently, the redemption centers often unilaterally post rules that are not part of the law, such as removing bottle caps and labels or washing out containers, resulting in further confusion among consumers.

The biggest problem is that the state collects the money from unredeemed cans or bottles instead of the stores. This means stores would have to foot the bill to set up an in-house recycling program that would oversee the collection of empties, while the state controls the money from deposits.

Contrary to common belief, grocery stores work on a very small margin of profit. People knowledgeable in this area say that grocery stores and food chains make less than 2 percent per year on their operations. They would earn more simply by putting money into a bank account and letting it earn interest. So to accuse stores of being opposed to recycling is simply not fair. The current Hawaii law deprives stores of the deposit moneys they need to participate in the beverage-recycling program, without hurting their core business.

The other big problem with the Hawaii beverage container law is that it fails to address the majority of the waste and litter problem. Beverage containers comprise less than 2 percent of the waste stream. The bulk of our trash is paper and yard waste. That is why many other states have not adopted bottle bills and instead have moved toward comprehensive recycling programs that include paper and green waste.

Study after study has shown that curbside recycling is the least costly, most effective way to recover useable waste products and save our scarce landfills.

The Legislature just convened a little more than two weeks ago and, on behalf of the people of our state, we hope they will use this session to address in a straightforward fashion the problems that plague the current beverage container law.

There is ample time to fix the system, we just need the bipartisan political will to admit an error was made and fix it. Rather than continuing the blame game, let's work together to make recycling a success. It is time to give comprehensive recycling a new beginning in Hawaii.

---