February 7, 2008
Recycling is catching on in Hawaii
It’s never been easy to recycle in all of the years I’ve lived in Hawaii. There are centers you can take soda cans and bottles to. Some of the schools recycle newspaper and phone books (but won’t take other paper goods or corrugated boxes.) The City/County of Honolulu (which encompasses the entire island of Oahu) picks up green waste. Some stores have bins to recycle plastic bags. That’s pretty much been what was available in the past. Since most recycling has required people to go somehwere to do it, most folks just haven’t bothered. It now looks like that will be changing. Public officials have been surprised with the enthusiasm that has greeted two new curbside recycling programs. The pilot programs put pressure on residents to participate by cutting their weekly rubbish pickups from two to one. People who routinely filled their bins twice weekly were forced to sort out recylables in order to get rid of their stuff. They’ve not only done that, they’ve done it well. They’ve sorted properly and haven’t tried to slip non-recyclables into their bins. This speaks well for all of us. The current projection is that it will take three years to offer the new service island-wide. That’s too long, but at least we’re finally moving forward with a workable program. We’re a small island and generate entirely too much waste. Out landfills are full and we’re running out of room to open new ones. Public officials have even considered hiring private contractors to ship our waste out of the state. It just makes good sense to look at recycling as a more responsible alternative. Good for us, good for our local environment, good for Mother Earth. Three cheers for public officials who are doing the right thing!
Technorati Tags: environment, Hawaii, recycling
Posted by skeet @ 10:55 pm • Environment, Hawaii
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February 7th, 2008 at 11:29 pm, skeet’s stuff » Share Some Good Stuff Says:
[…] I’m very excited to share some good news about rubbish! Yay for Hawaii going […]
February 8th, 2008 at 3:52 am, corrin Says:
Indiana is still light-years behind with recycling. The cashier at the grocery looks at me like I’m crazy when I buy milk in a glass bottle and put my groceries in cloth bags. I can’t claim to be a die-hard environmentalist, but I do some little things.
February 8th, 2008 at 8:58 am, Lee Says:
Baby steps are better than no steps at all!
February 8th, 2008 at 7:30 pm, skeet Says:
Corrin, I just bought some canvas totes from the hobby aisle at WalMart. I think I paid six or eight bucks for a three-pack of assorted colors. I’m not going to bother doing crafty decorations on them (that’s what they’re supposed to be for.) They’re in my car to carry into the stores when I shop. Cheap, efficient & reusable. So much better than those filmy plastic bags.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:31 pm, skeet Says:
It’s a start, Lee. If we don’t wise up we’re going to run out of room on these little islands.
February 9th, 2008 at 9:41 am, Lee Says:
If you’re interested, there’s a great, easy to digest series on how we can be more environmentally aware at Andrea’s place:
http://www.andreamcdowell.com/Beanie/archives/the_green_family/
February 9th, 2008 at 4:45 pm, skeet Says:
Mahalo for the link, Lee. I’m actually researching a future post on the subject, so I really appreciate having another source handy!