LIHUE — Ioane Agemotu of Kekaha had to catch The Kauai Bus at 6:30 a.m. Friday to get to Ahukini on time. But Agemotu was not at the Kauai Resource Center to get rid of unwanted or discarded electronic items
LIHUE — Ioane Agemotu of Kekaha had to catch The Kauai Bus at 6:30 a.m. Friday to get to Ahukini on time.
But Agemotu was not at the Kauai Resource Center to get rid of unwanted or discarded electronic items at the eWaste event, the first of regular free monthly collections.
Laura Kelly, the county’s recycling and waste prevention specialist, said Agemotu was one of several people in an “open interview” for a possible opening with T&N Recycling Computer Recycling Services.
“There will be several other people doing ‘open interviews’ (today) as well,” Kelly said. “This is just one way where people can make money recycling.”
During the open interview, Kelly said the prospective employee works for free and hopes his performance will land him a job.
Nik Nikolaidis of T&N Recycling said eventually the firm plans on having a staff of six to eight people on Kauai working out of the Kauai Resource Center as a hub and doing other work the firm does on Kauai.
“Ioane had to do a double-commute,” Kelly said. “Because The Kauai Bus doesn’t run to the refuse transfer station, he actually caught the bus from Kekaha to Lihue, unloaded his bicycle and rode it the rest of the way — a double commute just for a hope of a job.”
The Friday event marked the start of free recycling of electronic waste each month.
Electronic waste includes computers and accessories, televisions, office equipment, audio and video equipment along with handheld devices such as cell phones, pagers and two-way radios.
The public is invited to bring their eWaste to the Kauai Resource Center each second Friday and Saturday of the month from 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Kelly, who spent some time talking about recycling and waste prevention with Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., was among the steady stream of residents taking advantage of the eWaste event. The mayor drove up with two buckets of discarded batteries from the two-way radio sets used by the county.
Following the check-in for the batteries, Carvalho promptly went to help Barry Klein, the “official” first-in-line resident unload an non-working 65-inch television set and assorted electronic gear, which displayed the result of corrosive salt air.
Kelly was pleased because despite Pacific Corporate Solutions hosting an eWaste collection on May 24 and 25, the stream of people recycling electronic gear never gave Agemotu an opportunity to catch his breath.
Kelly said following the end of fiscal year 2012, the county issued another competitive big for (electronic) collection event services.
Pacific Corporate Solutions was the recipient of a zero-cost contract for a two-day event at Vidinha Stadium where county eWaste events have been traditionally held.
However, PCS added a two-day event on the North Shore in Kilauea and a two-day event on the Westside in Eleele, the first time remote sites were available to the public.
Kelly said during the event, which took place during the week of June 18 through 23, 2012, seven 40-foot containers were collected with the majority of the collection taking place at Vidinha Stadium. She said during that collection, 852 residents and 78 businesses participated, resulting in approximately 80 tons of electronics collected.
“All of this is good,” Kelly said. “That’s how much was diverted from the landfill. But more importantly, it prevents toxic materials from entering the environment and allows precious metals new life when they are reclaimed and turned into new appliances.”
Visit www.kauai.gov/recycling for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
