Can & Bottle Deposits? (Honolulu, Ewa Beach: hotel, buy, taxes)

[NoMoreSTL]

I noticed on our cans and bottles that there is a deposit charged here in Hawaii. We didn't have the deposit system in St. Louis and I'm not sure how it works. How do you get your deposit back?

I've been saving the cans and bottles anyway for recycling but I'm not sure where the closest recycling station is to Ewa Beach.

Does anyone have any info regarding deposits and recycling? Thanks in advance!

[kaimuki]

You can get your deposits back by schlepping all of your bottles and cans that have the 5 cent redemption icon on the container's label to a recycling center. Some pay per container while others pay by weight. Here is a web site to assist you.

Hawai‘i State Department of Health

[Mar0]

You'll notice when you purchased canned/bottled drinks, you are charged a beverage deposit fee or whatever it is called.

[NoMoreSTL]

Originally Posted by Mar0

You'll notice when you purchased canned/bottled drinks, you are charged a beverage deposit fee or whatever it is called.

Yeah, I noticed that first actually!

[Mililani Gal]

You are charged a $0.05 deposit and a $0.01 fee for each container (can, bottle, 2 liter, quarts of juice, but NOT milk) You are suppose to receive the nickel back when the container is turned in, but the process is such a pain that people just take what's given to them and it usually does not work out to $.05 a container. The $0.01 fee is used to support the costs of the program.

I have written to my local rep and the Director of Health commenting that my deposit is just that a "deposit" and should be returned to me when the container is turned in. I was informed that I could have my bottles hand counted up to 200 (or something) to assure I get my full $10 back. No way am I going to stand in the hot, dustiness of the recycling "center" while someone hand counts each container. So, I just take what they give me.

This is such a slush fund for the state I am the only member of my entire family redeeming my deposit. My whole family are major soda drinkers and consumers of bottled water and juices. Yet, I am the only one. They've asked if I wanted their bottles to take to the center, but we only go twice a year and we borrow a van to take the bags of cans and bottles.The van can barely carry just our stuff.

It's a pain and with the City and County of Honolulu starting curb side recycling (they pick-up recyclables from your home) they should stop charging us the deposits.

[Calico Salsa]

We are fortunate enough to live close to a recycling center, so we have a short haul to take our cans & bottles there. I would make the run anyway, to take cardboard and newspaper. I would love it if there were curbside recycling, but am willing to find a place for all the recyclables in the garage between runs. It would be nice to have more stations where people could drop off recyclable material, or the automated redemption machines.

A couple of big problems that Maui County folks have mentioned is the tendency for people to dump non-recyclable stuff in the recycle bins. Rubbish and food-tainted items cause pests. Items that could be recycled elsewhere (e.g. clamshell take out food plastics) are not in the contract to be recycled by the 3rd party recycler, so they have to be sorted out. The sorting job is low paying, hot, and dirty, and they can't keep people hired or motivated. High turnover means that the batches often have to get re-sorted when people miss picking out stuff or don't care.

One thing of great benefit of a deposit system is that the homeless pick up discarded cans & bottles or dig them out of the recycling & rubbish bins at the park. It keeps the discards off the grass and gives the homeless a bit more cash. If curbside recycling starts, we would probably see some folks coming by to take the cans & bottles ahead of the recycling trucks. That was a problem in California, because then the program didn't get as many goods to pay for itself.

Recently I heard that about 30% of Maui folks recycle. I would guess that the 30% don't all recycle everything, but that 30% participate. I don't think the program is ever intended to fully reimburse everyone for their deposit or time/effort. The idea is to reduce the number of items in the landfills, since we are limited with space and we are only postponing a problem when we just start a new pile of landfill.

Here on islands out in the middle of the Pacific it will always probably cost more to recycle than any program recoups - just having to barge the cans & bottles from island to island costs more than we are likely to get from the materials. But we can't leave them on the islands either. Think of all the cans & bottles arriving each day, then think of them never leaving. By paying a "deposit", there is a cost associated with the people who buy the cans & bottles, instead of charging everyone more in taxes. Any city/county recycling program counts on the fact that not everyone participates, nor do they always expect the program to pay for itself. Its a necessary cost to having so many containers.

Instead of using bottled water, one could have a stainless steel bottle that you refill and reuse. Small steps help. If everyone could use even one less bottle or can per week, think how that would add up.

[kani-lehua]

and don't forget that many things not on only end up in the landfills, but in our oceans as well!

[sierra23]

Just curious, where does everything that isn't recyclable end up? Landfills? Incinerators?

A few years ago, I visited Japan (a place where space is very limited probably not unlike HI), and even as a visitor as a long-term hotel guest, I was required to set the recyclables as well as the burnable trash aside from all the rest.

[kani-lehua]

Originally Posted by sierra23

Just curious, where does everything that isn't recyclable end up? Landfills? Incinerators?

both. i believe the state and/or city and county is also trying to ship the trash out to some other state?

[hunterseat]

Recently I was in CT and there were machines in every supermarket for cans and plastic. You put them in, the machine does the counting and gives you a receipt, redeemable for cash at customer service. Sort of a no-brainer. The slight inconvenience is the machine won't take bottles w/no label and it reads the barcode and if your bottle isn't a brand sold by the store it spits it back. But you take it to a different store. All this to say.... WHERE ARE THE MACHINES??? I googled the topic just now and here I am. Reading that the 5-cent I pay means nothing. REALLY? wth? In every other state a deposit is given back. You guys take that?