Hawaii recycling centers reject mislabled bottles
Hawaii recycling centers reject mislabled bottles
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Costco brought in pallets and pallets of water to meet the demand for supplies during last year’s hurricane season in Hawaii, a report from news station KITV 4 says. But customers across the state are just finding out those bottles are being rejected by recycling centers because they don’t have the proper HI-5 labels.
According to the news site, Costco said it brought in shipping containers full of the bottles, and six months later, customers are still trying to bring them into the state’s redemption centers, where they are supposed to receive 5 cents per bottle.
"If you purchased any of the unlabeled containers, you can take it back to Costco. Or if you have the receipt, I believe their inventory can tell and verify it that way, and they will reimburse them the 5 cents," the state Health Department’s Steve Chang told the news station.
The state says it fined Costco $16,000 for improper labeling after it began seeing the containers on neighboring islands last fall, according to the report. Chang says, in addition to that, customers are finding fewer recycling centers to redeem their bottles and cans these days.
"Throughout the country, and probably the world, the commodity [markets] for paper, plastic, aluminum and scrap metal [are] seeing a dramatic drop. So the recycling industry is hurting pretty bad right now," Chang told the news station.
A world of hurt means fewer jobs, longer waits and shorter hours. Chang told the news station that 24 centers shut down since last October. Reynolds Recycling, one of the larger companies, shuttered 19 centers and laid off more than 40 workers.
Meanwhile, according to the report, the state is making it easier for residents to locate recycling centers. A new mapping tool allows users to search for HI-5 recycling centers and operating times. Users just need to type in an address, and the nearest centers are listed. The Web site also is optimized for mobile devices.
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Source: Recycling Today
Hawaii recycling centers reject mislabled bottles
<![CDATA[Costco brought in pallets and pallets of water to meet the demand for supplies during last year’s hurricane season in Hawaii, a report from news station KITV 4 says. But customers across the state are just finding out those bottles are being rejected by recycling centers because they don’t have the proper HI-5 labels. According to the news site, Costco said it brought in shipping containers full of the bottles, and six months later, customers are still trying to bring them into the state’s redemption centers, where they are supposed to receive 5 cents per bottle. "If you purchased any of the unlabeled containers, you can take it back to Costco. Or if you have the receipt, I believe their inventory can tell and verify it that way, and they will reimburse them the 5 cents," the state Health Department’s Steve Chang told the news station. The state says it fined Costco $16,000 for improper labeling after it began seeing the containers on neighboring islands last fall, according to the report. Chang says, in addition to that, customers are finding fewer recycling centers to redeem their bottles and cans these days. "Throughout the country, and probably the…