Question: Now that we have those new blue curbside recycling bins, is there any change to the bottle and can HI-5 refund program recycling sites? Or will the 5-cent deposit be rescinded? It is not made clear on the city's opala.org Web site if we have the added option of recycling our cans and bottles in the blue bins.

Answer: The state Department of Health oversees the Beverage Container Deposit Program and has no plans to rescind or change it any time soon.

The program can be ended only with an act of the state Legislature, said spokeswoman Janice Okubo.

The department “;does not have the authority to end the program, which began with an act from the Legislature,”; she said.

The 5-cent redeemable deposit is meant as an incentive to get people to recycle HI-5-marked aluminum, glass and plastic containers.

People who want their deposits back can still drop containers off at redemption centers, said Karl Motoyama, coordinator of the Health Department's Office of Solid Waste Management.

The city's curbside recycling program gives consumers an added choice to how to recycle their containers.

If you don't care whether you get the deposits back, just place the containers in the city's blue bins to make sure they are recycled - and the city gets the money to help pay for the curbside recycling program, Motoyama said.

The state's recycling/redemption program and the city's curbside program “;work separately but cooperatively to maximize recycling,”; he said.

The blue bins are for aluminum cans; glass bottles and jars (without lids or tops); plastic containers marked with the 1 and 2 number code in a triangle; newspapers, minus magazines and glossy inserts; and corrugated cardboard only.

According to the opala.org Web site, materials in the blue bins are shipped to remanufacturing facilities, while yard waste placed in the green bins is composted locally.

“;Low-grade”; plastics and papers, such as plastic bags, Styrofoam containers, telephone books and cereal boxes can be tossed into the gray regular refuse cart to be burned at the city's HPOWER plant.

The city says those products “;provide greater benefit to the island in local energy production than shipping to distant markets to be made into new products.”;

Tin or steel food cans should be tossed into the regular trash, not the recycling bin, because those metals are pulled out by magnets at HPOWER, then sold by the city to a metal recycler.

If you have recycling or refuse questions, call 768-3200.

Mahalo

To the Maui Jim sunglass repair department in Lahaina. I have a delicate pair of Maui Jim glasses that I wear nearly every day. They are very lightweight plastic, which is what makes them so comfortable. Over nearly two years, I have broken both ear stems and the nose bridge, despite being careful. Each time I have sent them for repairs, they have come back quickly and completely fixed. I've only had to pay for shipping. I am grateful for their excellent customer service. - Steph K.