71. Require Curbside Recycling (County and State)

WHEREAS our state is comprised of small, isolated islands, and import, consume and generate more solid waste than our landfills can or should accommodate; and

WHEREAS we are responsible, as caretakers, to protect and nurture the environment that sustains us; and

WHEREAS materials used in electronics and chemical substances are toxic to our soil and leaching into our groundwater, our aquifers and our ocean, harming the health of our environment, ourselves and our common resources; and

WHEREAS the unrestricted disposal of toxic and dangerous substances is not adequately controlled to protect and preserve our environment; and

WHEREAS manufacturers of imported products are not held responsible for the true cost of their goods, reflected in the disposal of packaging and of their products, which is externalized on to taxpayers as toxic contamination, ill-health effects, overburdened landfills and destruction of our environment; and

WHEREAS many products in our landfills have recyclable value which we should manage for the public interest; and

WHEREAS failure to educate the public to be conscientious recyclers, leaves the public unaware of the cost of allowing careless disposal practices to cause further damage; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that all Counties in the state of Hawai`i require curbside recycling inclusive of but not limited to green compostable waste, glass, paper, aluminum, cardboard; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that retail and wholesale purchasers of electronic devices and products, including but not limited to televisions, computer equipment and cellular phones be required to pay a deposit/disposal fee which is redeemable upon proper disposal of such products either through a county redemption program or a manufacturer recycling exchange, similar to the existing program for car batteries; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that manufacturers selling their products in the state of Hawai`i be required to return or dispose of product-related refuse, including the actual merchandise and its packaging; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such innovative methods be implemented before analog television equipment becomes obsolete, so that it does NOT enter our landfills.