Hawaii is the 11th state to establish a beverage container deposit system. The bottle bill passed the 2002 Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Ben Cayetano. The deposit system began January 2005, and is expected to increase recycling rates to over 80% and to significantly reduce litter. The 5-cent deposit will be applied to all beverages in glass, plastic and metal containers. Milk, wine and spirits are exempt.
The State Department of Health will administer the program and manage the funds, working with representatives from local businesses and industries that will be affected by the deposit law to develop the administrative rules that will guide the system's operations.
The deposit amendment (SB 1611) passed the Legislature with no delay to the bottle bill implementation date which is January 1, 2005. In addition to the clarifying/house-keeping elements in the bill, language to block raids on the deposit fund for general fund use and temporary administrative rules were inserted as well. SB1611 is now on the governor's desk where she has the option to sign, veto or simply allow it to pass into law without her signature.
The State Department of Health, recycling companies and counties can now step up efforts to prepare for implementation January 1, 2005. Recycling companies are working diligently to site redemption centers on all islands.
Certain components of Hawaii's Beverage Deposit Law will be implemented earlier than the January 1 start date -- thanks to passage of SB1611 CD1. Specifically, in November and December, local food retailers will begin stocking their shelves with deposit containers (and charging shoppers for the deposit) as they sell out of non-deposit containers. This will allow vendors ample time to get ready for January 1, 2005, the date when they will be required by law to stock only deposit beverage containers.
Hawaii residents must wait until January 1, 2005 to redeem their bottles and cans for the nickel deposit. You can expect to see deposit "redemption centers" in operation by October, however, accepting non-deposit containers to put their systems through a dry run. As the program grows, and participation and redemption patterns emerge, individual stores may begin to offer redemption service and host reverse vending machines. There is no doubt that the "bottle bill" will take some time to adjust to -- on behalf of drinkers and retailers alike. But, in time, once we see higher and higher recycling rates, and fewer and fewer bottles and cans littering our roadways and beaches, we'll wonder why we didn't pass the law years ago.
Opponents of the law pressed for a repeal during the 2004 legislative session. The debate over the deposit system is likely to continue.
Source: Opala.org (the Hawaiian word for garbage) -- the website of the City and County of Honolulu's Refuse Division
Other related websites: http://www.bottlebillhawaii.org/
HI State Department of Health
For more information contact:
Jeffrey Mikulina
Director, Sierra Club, Hawai'i Chapter
tel: 808.538.6616
www.hi.sierraclub.org
[email protected]