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Container deposit phase-in begins November 1; Sierra Club launches website to take comments & questions to aid implementation of Bottle LawNews Release HONOLULU - Starting November 1st, retailers will begin to change 5-cent deposits on bottles and cans that are labeled with a soon-to-be familiar 'HI 5¢'. The nickel-redemption program-which aims to recover 80% of the 800 million bottles and cans used annually in Hawai`i-will be fully implemented on January 1st, 2005. The two month phase-in period was aimed at capitalizing the deposit fund to ensure that nickels are available to be paid out for what is anticipated to be widespread participation in the program. Given the landfill pressures on O`ahu, the timing of the new law couldn't be better, according to the Sierra Club. "Nobody likes the idea of expanding landfills and nobody likes broken glass on the beach," said Jeff Mikulina, Director of the Sierra Club. "We will soon be starting one of the most effective programs to address both of these issues." The Sierra Club has been sharply critical of the Lingle Administration's slow implementation of the bottle law. Although the Administration had nearly two years to implement the beverage container law, key staff positions to run the program were not approved until recently. Today, with only days remaining before customers may start to pay nickels, no public outreach campaign has begun. "People deserve to know how the program is going to work, where to redeem beverage containers, and why it is important to recycle," said Mikulina. "To maximize consumer support for the program, the public should be educated about the great success the bottle law has had on reducing litter and increasing recycling in the ten states with similar laws." The Department of Health reports that a public outreach campaign will begin shortly-a campaign that was almost scuttled over the Administration's objection to its content. The Lingle Administration's opposition to the bottle law is no secret. After introducing measures in the legislature to repeal the law (HB1191, and SB1368, which failed), the Governor refused to sign the administrative rules governing how the program would be run. The 2004 legislature was forced to pass a bill that contained these rules in statute-a bill which Governor Lingle reluctantly allowed to become law without her signature. While the Sierra Club hopes a well-planned education campaign will be in place to minimize the amount of confusion by customers and stores and encourage participation in the program, they have launched a new website to solicit questions, comments, and concerns from residents over the implementation of the program. The website (www.bottlebillhawaii.org/action.htm) allows residents to easily submit questions about the law that the Sierra Club will respond to or forward to the Department of Health, store, or recycler who can help the individual. The Sierra Club hopes the website will be used for another purpose: to report stores that are inappropriately charging (ie charging for containers outside of the program) or actually frustrating the implementation of the recycling law. "We fully anticipate that recycling opponents will launch an assault on the bottle law while it is just struggling to get off the ground," said Mikulina. "We would like to be made aware of retailers who are participating in efforts to trash the bottle law." Under the bottle law, consumers will receive five cents back for returning bottles and cans for recycling. The ten states with bottle bills recycle over 80% of bottles and cans-more beverage containers than the other 40 states combined. Since 1982, more than 75 billion containers bearing a 5-cent deposit have been redeemed under New York's bottle bill. Some 800 million beverage containers are used in Hawai`i annually, but only about 20% are recycled. On average, 75,000 beverage containers are thrown in the trash or littered every hour in Hawai`i. Government-funded studies conducted pre- and post-bottle bill in seven states showed reductions in beverage container litter ranging from 69% to 84%. Reductions in total litter ranged from 30% to 65%. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, beverage containers covered under Hawaii's bottle bill comprise 4.4% of the total waste stream, on average. "The bottle law is an environmental success story waiting to happen," said Mikulina. "Residents, retailers, recyclers, the Administration-everyone needs to come together in the next few months to make it a reality. Hawai`i will be better off for it." # # #
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| © 2005 City & County of Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services. | |||||||||||||||
