The positive response to this column has been amazing. Mahalo to all of you who have commented to me on your willingness to take personal responsibility for being more sustainable. People on Kaua‘i are always willing to work together, and
The positive response to this column has been amazing. Mahalo to all of you who have commented to me on your willingness to take personal responsibility for being more sustainable.
People on Kaua‘i are always willing to work together, and through this column we’ll continue to promote actions we all can take in our everyday lives to take better care of ourselves, our loved ones and our environment.
Last month I talked about recycling — about setting up containers at our homes and offices, so the island will have less garbage. At the county, all offices are currently going through an “audit” with our recycling staff to improve our break room recycling programs. Mahalo to Emily Ishida for her hard work on this effort!
Whoever would have thought, years ago, that just throwing something away would get this complicated? But think about it, where is “away?” For us, “away” is either somewhere else on Kaua‘i or into the ocean. So producing less garbage will make a huge difference.
That’s why, again, I send a huge mahalo to all the families and individuals who have already worked recycling into their weekly household routines. For those of you just getting started, a list of recycling locations is readily available on the county’s Web site at www.kauai.gov/recycling.
Managing an island is just like managing a home — only on a l-a-r-g-e-r scale. Imagine if all the waste from your home had to stay on your own property. What would you do? (This is what I’m facing as mayor, by the way.) In addition to recycling what we can, we can also choose to not buy or use as much “stuff.”
Here’s a good example: plastic bags. There is really no use for a plastic bag once you get it home from the store. So here’s a great first step in using less:
— Bring cloth bags, or re-used plastic bags, to the store. Keep several in your car, so they’re handy. Some stores give 5 cents off for bringing your own bag.
— Re-use plastic bags over and over.
— Use these five magic words at the check-out stand whenever possible: “I don’t need a bag.”
So this month, I’m asking people to commit to less garbage for real, and going “cold turkey” with plastic bags is a great place to start.
I also want to tell you about a very special promotion we’ll be presenting with KIUC and Apollo Kaua‘i at the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau Fair later this month called “Bring It On Down!” We’ll be rewarding residents who are lowering their electrical energy consumption.
If you’ve succeeded in reducing your KIUC bill for three consecutive months (the graph on your bill compares your usage by month) then you can enter to win prizes including a one-year Kaua‘i Bus pass (worth $180), and a brand-new bicycle courtesy of Bicycle Kaua‘i and KIUC. Just bring your most recent KIUC bill to our booth at the Fair Aug. 27-30 and enter to win these prizes and more.
Remember, together we can.
• Bernard Carvalho Jr. is mayor of Kaua‘i County.
