LIHU‘E — County officials announced that the pilot curbside recycling program currently in place in Puhi and portions of Lihu‘e is scheduled to end this month. The carts used in the pilot program will be collected on the last pick-up
LIHU‘E — County officials announced that the pilot curbside recycling program currently in place in Puhi and portions of Lihu‘e is scheduled to end this month.
The carts used in the pilot program will be collected on the last pick-up day scheduled in August, a county news release states. Households in the program will be reminded about the cart retrieval dates in the coming weeks.
“Over the last year, the participants in the pilot program helped tremendously in diverting waste from our landfill, and we appreciate the efforts of everyone involved,” Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said in the release.
“The information gathered from the program will help us plan for future recycling programs.”
The primary purpose of the pilot was to determine the potential participation rate, types and quantities of recyclables collected, and areas that need improvement for future planning.
The data compiled over the last 10 months in terms of proportion of materials recycled by weight include:
— Mixed paper: 29.5 percent
— Cardboard: 24.7 percent
— Newspaper: 16.5 percent
— Glass: 9.6 percent
— Plastic: 5.2 percent
— Aluminum: .1 percent
Contamination accounted for 14.5 percent of the content, which included: mixed paper combined with broken glass; plastic bags; lids and cups; paper plates; food wrappers; napkins; paper towels; rotten food; plastic bottles with liquid; food contaminated containers and bags; tin cans; scrap metal; green waste; clothes; and toys.
The average weight of material collected from each home was 28.78 pounds per month. The program served some 1,300 homes in Lihu‘e and Puhi, meaning roughly 37,414 pounds of trash a month was diverted from the landfill.
For more information, visit the county website, www.kauai.gov/curbsiderecycling, or call 241-4837.
