Hawaii's Bottle Bill

[pzarquon]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

A curbside recycling plan was in the works, but was sidelined by labor disputes (of course). I still have the blue bin in our garage. As far as the ease of recycling, I agree, and think that if and when the retailer-end of the current law comes into effect (meaning many stores far from "official" centers will have "reverse vending machines" out front), things might get better.

We have three 30-gallon garbage bags filled with rinsed, dried, capless beverage containers, and we live less than a mile from the Mililani redemption center. I don't blame that on the law, though, I blame that on my lazy butt!

[Glen Miyashiro]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Likewise with me. The collection points are inconvenient, but I'm still accumulating those cans and bottles.

[Konaguy]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the legislature deferred any bills
that would've repealed the bottle bill ?

[mel]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the legislature deferred any bills that would've repealed the bottle bill ?

No. None of the bills that were for the purpose of completely repealing the beverage container tax law were even heard. Guess why? All the committee chairs are DEMOCRATS, they are liberal, they voted the damn law into place and won't dare think about repealing it. I am sure all you liberals here love this. No hope for repeal, so why complain? You won. You got what you want. Live with it.

(The repeal bills I know of were introduced by Republicans. Figure it out. It's all the rule of the majority party.)

[Waiting for liberal bricks to be hurled in my direction]

________________________________

Caution: This is a liberal inundation zone.

[pzarquon]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Didn't Lingle herself say she'd prefer an improved bill rather than a flat repeal? Or did the call for a repeal eventually become the unanimous desire of the minority party? Considering that the bill in question hasn't even been fully enacted, I thought that folks on both sides were still in a "wait-and-see" mode.

In the mean time, it certainly seems to be a moneymaker for the state. Anyone know if the fund is held or cycled through some kind of interest-bearing fund? Until my bags of bottles and cans can make it to the nearest center, I'd hope their value is doing some good.

Hey, if the money continues to pile up, maybe everyone'd go for a tax cut! Heh.

Anyway, depending on how big a mess it turns out to be once the retailer segment is in place, I can see legislators of both parties looking to gut or kill. A fickle public can change things in a hurry, as the "van cam" debacle taught us.

Waiting for liberal bricks to be hurled in my direction

Why bother, if the first brick is preemptively hurled for us? So helpful, you!

[zztype]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

I still contend that we should PAY THE DEPOSIT at the SAME PLACE that we COLLECT THE REFUND!

My plan would work like this: At the grocery store, you buy a six-pack of your favorite libation. At the checkout, the clerk hands you a little printout "invoice" for the deposit due on the bottles or cans.

The consumer then drives to the DEPOSIT/REDEMPTION CENTER, hands the invoice to the clerk there and pays the deposit. (It might also be a convenient time to turn in your empties and collect your refunds!)

There, that's equitable!

No?!

Why not?

What? Nobody would drive to the redemption center to pay the deposit?

Oh.

Well, why in hell would they drive to the redemption center to turn in the empties, then?

[Miulang]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Well, if it gets to the point that the bottles and cans you've been hoarding are crowding you out of your house or garage, you might give some thought to giving them to some school group or civic association that is collecting them to raise money for a project.

That way, you'd be helping some kid earn enough money for a school trip, or a civic organization a piece of equipment, and you'd be clearing your house of the clutter!

Miulang

[EastCoastTropics]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

When I first moved to this town we only had a redemption center. Now our grocery stores have redemption machines for plastic bottles and alum cans. These machines are usually located in the front of the grocery store. Customers put their bottles/cans in, then it gets shredded and the machines spits out a receipt so that the customer can get his refund at the register. The deposit is a nickel. Whatever isn't refunded to the customer goes back to the state of MA, and the store gets half a cent on every nickel.

Paper is also recycled....we have a little paper recycling bin and boxes and papers are broken down and put into the bin. The bin is left out on the curb every other week for curbside collection.

[zztype]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Lovena,

I would LOVE IT if Hawaii had similar redemption at the place of purchase system. But we don't, and that was the point of my post.

In Hawaii, the lovely legislators crafted a law where they collect 6 cents per container at the checkout. Then they promise to refund you 5 center per container at a couple of redemption centers. The centers are in out of the way industrial areas, and are only open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

There are long lines at the centers, with folks reporting 45 minutes to an hour in line to redeem a bag of cans. And when one reaches the front of the line with a large quantity of cans, you are allowed to redeem only a limited number before being sent to the back of the line.

The recycler then offers to take your cans at the bulk price of 5 cents PER POUND. (Before the law went into effect, they used to pay 25 cents per pound, or thereabouts.) If you forfeit the nickle-per-item deposit and go for the riduculously low bulk price, the recycler later claims your deposit, and is paid a couple of cents fromt he state, on top of that!!!

That's why our recycling law sucks. The house is rigged for the state to make millions of dollars while insuring that almost nothing gets recycled. Recent news reports stated that while something in the vicinity of $12 million in deposits have been collected by the state, only $300,000 had been paid out in redemptions. That sucks.

And it's only because the deck is stacked in favor of the state getting free money. They made it too much of a hassle to get your deposit back, so they just keep the money while your recyclables go into the landfill.

[Albert]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Well, my main returnable object would be one of those 40-ounce bottles which hold malt liquor, and no way am I lugging an empty one to anywhere to get five cents.

[EastCoastTropics]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Lovena,

I would LOVE IT if Hawaii had similar redemption at the place of purchase system. But we don't, and that was the point of my post.

That's why our recycling law sucks. The house is rigged for the state to make millions of dollars while insuring that almost nothing gets recycled. Recent news reports stated that while something in the vicinity of $12 million in deposits have been collected by the state, only $300,000 had been paid out in redemptions. That sucks.

zztype,

That's what I like about our redemption system. It's convienient and there is an incentive for the customer to recycle and an incentive for the stores that sell as well.

It's a win-win situation for all involved and we are helping to protect our enviroment and managing our solid waste.

Rarely do I puchase any drinks in recyclable containers but when I do I don't turn the bottles in. I don't care about the nickel but I do care about recycling. I give my empty plastic and alum items to neighbors or neighborhood kids who do go in and recycle.

Lovena,

That's why our recycling law sucks. The house is rigged for the state to make millions of dollars while insuring that almost nothing gets recycled. Recent news reports stated that while something in the vicinity of $12 million in deposits have been collected by the state, only $300,000 had been paid out in redemptions. That sucks.

And it's only because the deck is stacked in favor of the state getting free money. They made it too much of a hassle to get your deposit back, so they just keep the money while your recyclables go into the landfill.

I believe the key here is enviromental. I also believe that Hawaiian residents know the importance of protecting their enviroment and consumers should demand that Hawaii state law makers adopt a beverage container law that that will lead to an efficient solution to achieving solid waste management goals.

[Miulang]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Interesting followup on the costs associated with the companies who are doing the recycling.

Washington State doesn't have a recycling law, but we don't have much of a problem with cans either, because when redeemed, we get somewhere around 26-28 cents/lb. Of course, recycling is mandatory in the City of Seattle anyway.

Miulang

[Miulang]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Just got back from Maui last night. There is a very enterprising owner of 2 gas stations in Kahului who, on his own, went out and bought 2 reverse redemption beverage recycling vending stations. They cost him $25k, but he said since his convenience stores at the stations sold soda and other canned beverages, he wanted to make it easier for his customers to recycle their canns and bottles. The customers can get cash back, or they can apply the refund to the price of their fill up.

I think that's a win-win situation, because the vending machines will be available 24x7, and will take both bottles and cans.

Paul Hanada, the owner of the gas stations, thinks if the Legislature would provide tax incentives for purchase of these machines, more businesses would also be willing to act as redemption centers.

Miulang

[EastCoastTropics]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

Miulang, hope you had a good trip to Maui.

Kudos for Paul Hanada for taking the inititive! Would be good publicity if the local paper and tv news stations would come down and do a story of it, even taking a few photos of his customers using the recycling vending stations.

[pzarquon]

Re: Hawaii's Beverage Container Tax

I saw a lot of coverage of that guy. And I definitely hope it spurs other merchants to make the investment. I mean, supermarkets already welcome "Coinstar" coin counting machines, which aren't even good deals - the customer loses 8 percent of their money - but they still spur people to spend that cash in the store where the machines are located.