Hawaii Island residents will no longer be able to redeem their HI-5 bottles and cans at three of the most popular transfer stations, and the continuation of redemption service at a fourth is uncertain, as contractors grapple with inflation, fuel price increases and a worker shortage stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
The Kealakehe and Hilo transfer stations will no longer offer HI-5 redemption after June 29. The Waimea transfer station will end the program Saturday.
The county was able to extend once-weekly HI-5 redemption at the Volcano transfer station for another 90 days by switching it from Saturdays to Thursdays, ending this Saturday and resuming July 7.
The HI-5 redemption centers are run by local companies under county contracts using state grants. They have limited days and hours of operation, depending on the site. The program is self-funded, with consumers paying a 5-cent refundable deposit and a 1-cent nonrefundable handling fee.
A county press release issued Monday stated the reason for the cancellation of services at Kealakehe, Hilo and Waimea as the state Department of Health “will no longer fund” those services because there are redemption facilities “within a short distance from the above-mentioned sites.”
But Michael Burke, solid waste management coordinator for the state agency, said the state hasn’t cut HI-5 grants to the county.
“They’re getting the full amount they’ve requested,” Burke said Tuesday. “The bigger issue has been the actual cost of operating the redemption centers.”
The county asked the state for a $574,390 HI-5 grant this year, with $516,970 of that for contracted services and $57,420 for county employee salaries and wages according to the budget submitted by Mayor Mitch Roth’s administration. A similar amount was paid last year.
Materials the county accepts for recycling at its landfill and transfer stations have declined since 2019, when the Department of Environmental Management quit accepting newspaper, office paper and plastics. Currently, corrugated cardboard, paper bags and non-HI-5 glass bottles and jars are accepted at the transfer stations. The county at the time blamed markets not accepting the mixed recyclables product, on the basis it was contaminated with non-recyclable material.
County Recycling Coordinator Sanne Berrig, who was not named in the press release sent out under the Department of Environmental Management letterhead, said the county continues to hope the situation is temporary.
“We as the county definitely strive to make recycling as convenient as possible but as usual we’re limited by funds,” Berrig said Tuesday, adding that this time, “it wasn’t so much the money as it was the staffing.”
The recycling operators’ recent responses to county bid solicitations hasn’t been a cause for optimism, Burke and Berrig agree. The companies, strapped for employees, have been concentrating on keeping their own businesses going, which also rely on state HI-5 grant money to survive.
“Inflation really caught us all off guard. It’s a bad situation for everybody,” Burke said. “The operators themselves are really struggling with hiring.”
Berrig acknowledged that HI-5 recycling might decrease as redeeming the bottles and cans becomes less convenient, but she’s hoping people who don’t have time to make a separate trip to a recycler in addition to their transfer station stop will still collect the containers and pass them along to someone who’s turning theirs in.
The state is working with the county to see how its current programs are run in the hopes of helping enhance the service. The county is also looking to host events in the future such as pop-up plastic recycling events.
“We do want to expand. We understand people do want more recycling,” Berrig said. “Mayor Roth has put this in a higher priority so that’s really good for us.”
Meanwhile, those looking for a place to redeem their HI-5 bottles and cans from the shuttered sites can choose these alternatives:
In proximity to the Hilo landfill are Atlas Recycling, 30 Makaala St., and Mr. K’s Recycle &Redemption, 815 Kinoole Street.
Near the Kealakehe transfer station are Atlas Recycling facilities on Queen Kaahumanu Highway and at 74-5600 Alapa St.
Near the Waimea transfer station are Atlas recycling at 64-1004 Mamalahoa Highway and Business Services Hawaii at the Honokaa transfer station.