March 5, 2007
Concerns weighed in container count
By MELISSA TANJI, Staff Writer
KAHULUI – There are mixed feelings about a state proposal that would increase the number of recyclable containers that customers can demand be counted by redemption centers.
Workers at redemption centers fear longer lines and added staff time. But consumers support the effort, saying it would increase accuracy and could also encourage more recycling.
Currently under Department of Health rules, customers can demand a hand count when bringing in 50 or fewer containers. The state wants to increase that number to include counts of up to 200 containers to "provide consumers with increased accuracy when redeeming deposit beverage containers."
Sherri Pell, redemption operations manager at Aloha Glass Recycling, said her staff fears longer lines and longer wait times for customers.
"Two hundred can be a problem if there is a line," she said.
Tim White, Maui manager of Reynolds Recycling, said counting 200 containers takes about four minutes, but if someone drops a container or the count gets interrupted another way, it could increase the time workers spend on each customer.
But customer Mainer William of Pukalani, who was recycling containers at Aloha Glass on Wednesday, said he believes a hand count will be more accurate.
"I thought I’d get more," he said.
William said his several trash barrels of recycled materials were all counted by weight. Maybe the next time, he said, he would use a reverse vending machine instead to get full redemption value.
The Hawaii redemption law applies to glass, plastic and metal containers used for beverages, including water, soft drinks and beer. Containers marked with an HI for redemption return 5 cents per container, but when the Department of Health initiated the program two years ago, the rules provided for hand counts up to 50 containers, with redemption centers allowed to use the weight formula for more than 50.
State officials said the weight formula was necessary because hand counts of large numbers of containers would take an excessive amount of time for redemption center workers.
Jim Conklin of Kihei, who was also recycling at Aloha Glass, said he thought increasing the requirement on hand counts is a "great idea."
Although he noted he has not considered the economics of the proposed amendment, he said "anything to encourage people to recycle is a great idea."
The state will hold a public hearing through videoconferencing at 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss amending Hawaii administrative rules to increase the count requirement from 50 to 200.
Residents on Maui can participate in the hearing at the Maui Community College Media Center in the Ka’a’ike Building, Room 103.
The Department of Health, which oversees the program, may decide on the proposed rule at the end of the hearing. If a decision is not made immediately following the hearing, the department will notify the public of when a decision will be made.
The proposed change by the DOH is among several amendments proposed to the Hawaii Deposit Beverage Container Program, also known as HI-5.
The state Legislature is reviewing several bills on the law, including one that would require some supermarkets carrying beverages in redeemable containers to provide for onsite redemption centers.
Among the reasons for the Health Department’s proposed rule changes are consumer complaints that the state container redemption rules are shortchanging customers with an inconsistent weight formula. The weight formula can be inaccurate particularly with plastic beverage containers, which come in a variety of sizes and weights.
Redemption center personnel said customers can be shortchanged when they have a large number of small plastic bottles. By weight, small containers can be undercounted and redemption payments are lower than if the containers were hand counted.
Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the Department of Health, said the department is moving to make it easier for customers to get an exact count on the containers they are redeeming.
When the issue of undercounting was raised last year, the Health Department in November announced it was bringing in a California-based consulting firm to study Hawaii’s weight formula for recycled beverage containers.
Okubo said the state is reviewing the results of the evaluation, which should be released shortly.
Redemption officials say the state should adjust the conversion formula, rather than require hand counts for large numbers of containers. Pell said the weight formula is "good" for aluminum and glass but might not be exact for small plastic bottles.
Pell said customers could ask for counts on those smaller bottles to get an exact refund.
But "the scale does work on some things," she said.
White agreed the state should adjust the weight formula instead of increasing the hand-count requirement. He suggested the state re-examine the weight formula for plastic bottles and aluminum cans.
He also suggested that the state should provide people with more information on the program’s progress to enhance confidence that it is fair and successful.
The HI-5 beverage container redemption law went into effect Jan. 1, 2005, for consumers.
Under the Hawaii program, redeemable beverage containers carry an extra 6 cents in cost for consumers. Customers get back 5 cents when they redeem the containers, and a penny goes toward administrative costs of the redemption program.
Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
HI-5 AMENDMENTS
The Department of Health will hold a public hearing on proposed changes to administrative rules on the HI-5 beverage container redemption program.
WHAT: Videoconference hearing on proposal to increase the required deposit beverage container counts at redemption centers from 50 to 200
WHEN: 6 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Maui Community College Media Center, Ka’a’ike Building, Room 103
The public may testify orally or in writing at the hearing or via written correspondence to the Department of Health’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, P.O. Box 3378, Honolulu, 96801-4226.
Six copies of testimony should be submitted and may be mailed or e-mailed to lauren.willson@doh.hawaii.gov by 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The proposed rules may be viewed at the Maui District Health office in Wailuku or at www.hawaii.gov/health/about/rules/admrulechanges.html.
