Volcano residents will have to travel farther afield to recycle HI-5 containers after the redemption center at the Volcano Transfer Station closes at the end of September.
The Hawaii County Department of Environmental Management announced Monday that after Sept. 29, the HI-5 redemption center will shut down after the contract with the current operator expires.
Chris Chin-Chance, recycling specialist for Environmental Management’s Solid Waste Division, said Atlas Recycling, the current contractor for the site, was unable to fill a “serious staffing shortage” for the Volcano center and is unable to continue operating it.
The county is continuing to solicit bids from recyclers to manage the site, although Chin-Chance noted that another major recycling provider, Business Services Hawaii, also has been plagued by staffing shortages as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After the Volcano center closes, the county recommends that users instead take their HI-5 materials to W. H. Shipman Business Park in Keaau or the Keaau Transfer Station, both about 18 miles away from the Volcano Transfer Station.
“Wow, that’s a bummer. I guess we’ll have to go all the way to Keaau,” said Volcano resident Kellee Terkla on Monday while visiting the transfer station. “Luckily, we can still recycle, but I know that’s a helpful program.”
Two people recycling cardboard in Volcano on Monday were not surprised that the Hi-5 program would end, considering its availability was cut to Thursdays only.
Chin-Chance said there are 17 other HI-5 centers active in the county, and other private businesses offer HI-5 recycling as well. However, county recycling has been downsized repeatedly over the past few years, most recently in April when the its e-waste program was suspended due to a lack of funds.
Chin-Chance said the e-waste program could be reinstated with new state funds in January, particularly after the passage this year of Act. 151. That law requires electronics providers to collect and recycle at least 50% of their electronic waste beginning Jan. 1, with that percentage increasing each subsequent year until 2025, when they will be required to collect at least 70%.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.