[News] Hawaii is about to launch one of the nation's most ambitious tech waste recycling programs10/31/2022
by Daryl Huff
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaii is implementing one of the most ambitious electronic waste recycling plans in the country, but some Hawaii retailers are afraid it will mean higher prices and less selection.Ironically, Hawaii has no ability to recycle electronic devices. Instead, the material has to be collected and shipped to processing centers elsewhere. The goal of the new law is to have manufacturers collect and ship out more and more of the used-up products. ... State Rep. Nicole Lowen, chair of the Energy and Environmental Protection Committee, was among the lead advocates for the law. She said putting the full responsibility on the manufacturers will incentivize them to pay more attention to the waste their industry is generating. “We are pushing them to rethink the design packaging, distribution systems of their products and create more efficiency, for the reuse and recycling of those products or the materials that they contain,” Lowen said. The original version of the act, in effect from 2010, set recycling targets only for televisions and provided limited funding for electronic device recycling targets for manufacturers.
This revision provides updates and improvements that benefit Hawai`i Island, including: Establishing recycling (and reuse) goals for manufacturers of electronic devices, based on their sales from two years' prior; Requiring manufacturers to fully fund their recycling plans; Strengthens convenient collection at no cost to device owners, including monthly collection in Kona and Hilo. Read the full text of Act 151. For more information on the County's restructured free residential electronic waste collection program, visit the County's website. Note: Mr. K's electronic waste recycling program continues as usual, for residents as well as for businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Read the article in the Hawaii Tribune Herald
By Michael Brestovansky A county program to recycle electronic waste has been discontinued until at least July. The Solid Waste Division of the county’s Department of Environmental Management announced Monday that its E-Waste Collection Program is suspended effective immediately because of a lack of funds. The program had received $85,000 in state funding this fiscal year, said Chris Chin-Chance, recycling specialist for the Solid Waste Division. But, three months before the end of the fiscal year, those funds have dried up. “I guess we are expecting more funding next fiscal year,” Chin-Chance said. “If we get that, the program will probably come back, but it might be in a different form.” Before the cancellation, e-waste was collected at stations in Hilo and Kealakehe. In Hilo, e-waste could be deposited at Mr. K’s Recycle and Redemption on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, while the Kealakehe transfer station accepted e-waste the third Saturday of every month. Should additional funding be secured, Chin-Chance said a reinstated e-waste program might might operate differently than the previous one.“We are discussing in what shape or form the new program will be,” Chin-Chance said. Chin-Chance said the bulk of the state funds was used to secure a contract with Mr. K’s to collect, process and transport e-waste. But even with the program suspended, residents can still discard their e-waste at Mr. K’s — although Chin-Chance noted that it likely will cost a small fee to do so. Chin-Chance also lamented that a bill in the state Legislature this year could have mitigated pressure on county recycling programs. House Bill 1640, in its original state, would have required that electronics manufacturers recycle a certain percentage of their products sold in Hawaii each year. Roy with Robin Wiener, ISRI President A locally owned small business, Mr. K's stays connected with the broader recycling network. In late March, Roy Kadota, owner of Mr. K's, attended the 2022 Convention and Exposition of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI), held this year in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Roy attended sessions on topics such as how recycling fits into a sustainable future, how businesses should incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) requirements into operations, and the current state and future of copper and plastic. |
Archives
October 2023
Categories
All
|