When any charge goes up by 100%, it sounds like a lot. But if the charge in question is rising from 5 cents to 10 cents, is that additional nickel too much to pay to lessen waste from single-use drink containers? And what if the charge wasn’t really a charge at all, but rather a deposit — and consumers could get that 10 cents back by bringing the single-use container to a recycling center?
And finally: What if the fee or deposit paid could be reduced to zero, or close to it — simply by not buying single-use containers?
The Hawaii Legislature is mulling all of these questions as it considers Senate Bill 184, which would raise the deposit charged on beverage containers from 5 cents to 10 cents.
Under Hawaii’s system, which took effect in 2005, the deposit is collected by retailers when beverages are sold, and proceeds are managed by the Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH). Redemptions, however, are made at recycling centers, which a consumer must locate and then transport recyclables to.
HDOH projects that an increased deposit will be seen as a higher “price” for some customers, and result in fewer purchases, even as increased refund value will “significantly increase” the numbers of containers recycled. And from an environmental point of view, both of those results are a win-win: Less waste if less is consumed, and less waste with higher rates of recycling.
As HDOH recommends, a transition period would be necessary so retailers and distributors can update their systems, and a set date for the transition must be established to ease confusion over return values. These should be folded into SB 184, if it advances for discussion.
It’s also recognized that recycling centers, which have been reduced in numbers as fewer people returned their cans and bottles, are often inconvenient for households. This needs to be addressed.
Meanwhile, SB 724 would require retailers to offer redemption on-site — and indeed, making recycling available at points of purchase is the fairest and most efficient way to ensure that consumers can recycle as easily as they can purchase their favorite bottled beverages.
Even if the Legislature isn’t ready to require retailers to participate as redemption sites, it should call for more recycling hubs, and for them to be open during hours convenient to working people.
The recycling program currently has a $67 million surplus — accumulated over several years, as more money was collected than redeemed. That funding should be used to add new centers, and to better publicize the recycling program and its values — for consumers who redeem and for the environment with less waste.
It’s true that hiking the deposit fee could reduce vendor sales of bottles and cans by discouraging people from using deposit-burdened containers. In this case, we applaud the competitive spirit that motivates vendors to adapt when retail patterns change: Hawaii’s retail sector can find alternative ways to attract buyers. As one example, outlets increasingly offer beverages “on tap” so that reusable containers — all the rage, among the care-for-the-planet crowd — can be used to take them home.
Finally, Hawaii’s residents must remember that this state is blessed with some of the cleanest, purest water on Earth. As nearly all Hawaii households already pay for access to tap water, one way or another, drinking water from island systems out of reusable containers is objectively the healthiest — and cheapest — option.
Reducing usage of single-use containers is desirable for one positive, important reason: It “helps protect the environment and communities,” as the Plastic Free Hawaii campaign states. Getting that message firmly across to Hawaii residents would spur more households to use fewer of them, and to return ones that are used for recycling.
