Approximately 800 million beverage containers are sold in Hawaii each year – that’s a lot of plastic, aluminum, and glass! The HI-5 program is helping to keep these materials out of landfills through a 5-cent deposit redemption, and the City & County of Honolulu is evaluating options for curbside recycling following a voter-approved charter amendment.
Recycling saves energy and water, lowers pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, improves air and water quality, reduces waste, and protects the land and its resources. To encourage recycling, Down to Earth offers this how-to guide for Oahu and Maui:
Where to recycle
On Oahu
- HI-5 beverage containers can be recycled for 5 cents each at the RRR Recycling Services mobile “reverse vending machine” trucks, and at the Reynolds Recycling redemption centers.
- Recyclables can be dropped-off in the bins located at 76 schools and shopping centers around the island. These take glass, aluminum cans, plastic, newspaper, cardboard, and white or colored office paper. Some neighborhoods have curbside recycling (we may see more in the future), and many have green waste pickup.
- For redemption center and drop-off bin locations or other recycling information, visit www.opala.org, or contact info@opala.org or 692-5410.
On Maui
- There are eight recycling/redemption centers on Maui.
- For Maui County recycling information: visit www.mauicounty.gov/recycle or contact recycle.maui@mauicounty.gov or 270-7880.
How to recycle
- Glass, aluminum cans, plastic beverage bottles: Rinse, remove lids. Labels are OK.
- NO plastic bags, food tubs, hard plastic, styrofoam, shrink wrap, foam rubber, ceramics, light bulbs, window glass, steel/tin cans, scrap metals, lawn furniture, building materials.
- Newspaper, cardboard, office paper: Includes newspapers, corrugated cardboard, boxboard (cereal boxes), brown paper bags, office paper (boxed or paper-bagged).
- NO magazines, telephone books, milk/juice cartons, wax-coated cardboard, food residue, plastic bags, rubber bands, string. Do not tie in bundles. Boxes must be flattened.
- Tin cans, scrap metal: Oahu H-Power reclaims metals such as tin cans from trash. Steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and other metals can be recycled through scrap dealers on both Oahu and Maui. They can be found in the yellow pages under “Scrap Metals.”