Hawaii Reports Strong Participation in HI-5 Recycling Program

The DOH adds that the state’s highest annual recycling rate through the program was 79 percent achieved from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

Through the HI-5 program, consumers pay 6 cents on each beverage container purchased: a 5-cent deposit to be returned to the consumer when the container is recycled and a non-refundable 1 cent container fee to cover the cost of recycling the glass, plastic or aluminum container.

“The HI-5 program continues to be a great success. The 5-cent redemption helps reduce litter at our parks and beaches and has kept billions of bottles and cans out of our garbage,” says Gary Gill, DOH deputy director of environmental health in a release.

The agency says it will not increase the 1-cent fee charged on each recyclable beverage container for the next 12 months. The DOH says the state law requires the annual redemption rate to be determined by the first of August each year. State law requires the per-container fee to increase from 1 cent to 1.5 cents if the statewide redemption rate exceeds 70 percent, unless the director of health, in consultation with the state auditor, determines that a fee increase is not needed.

The fund balance in the Deposit Beverage Container Special Fund is projected to remain adequate to support Hawaii’s HI-5 recycling program for another year, according to the DOH.

Since the HI-5 program began in 2005, more than 4 billion containers have been recycled.