HI-5 redemption rates dropping

Spurred by falling recycling rates, the state Department of Health announced Monday it will reduce the container fee it charges to manufacturers, distributors and importers of HI-5 beverage containers by a half-cent effective Sept. 1.

The move to cut the fee to 1 cent from 1.5 cents comes after the state’s redemption rate fell below 70 percent during fiscal year 2014, triggering the fee decrease required by law.

“Despite the lower redemption rate during fiscal year 2015, Hawaii residents still managed to recycle an estimate of more than 640 million containers, helping to significantly reduce litter and conserve resources.”

Janice Okubo, department spokeswoman, said a recent decline in the number of redemption centers may have affected the redemption rate. While the number of centers peaked in 2013 at 110, there are now only 91 statewide.

“A number of certified redemption centers have not been able to renew their leases, and with less centers, the convenience of recycling may have been challenging for many people,” she said.

Hawaii’s so-called bottle bill was signed into law in 2002. Distributors began paying a container fee in October 2002, and consumers, dealers and distributors began paying the 5-cent container deposit beginning in 2005.

The redemption rate — the percentage of HI-5 containers returned versus the number sold — started at 67.6 percent and climbed to 78.7 percent by 2009. In 2013 the rate was 75 percent before dropping over the next two years to 68.4.

Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation, said returning HI-5 containers to an inconveniently located redemption center, rather than the grocery store as some states require, may be too high of a hurdle for some folks to bother.

Mikulina, who fought for the bottle bill when he led the Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, said another factor in the declining recycling rate might be the diminishing value of the nickel. Maybe a larger deposit is needed, he said. In Michigan, where the deposit is 10 cents, the redemption rate is 95 percent.

Iran nuclear deal

[7/15/15] The landmark Iran nuclear deal poses a threat to both Israel and the United States, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told NBC News' Lester Holt on Wednesday.

"We think this is not only a threat to us. We think this is a threat to you as well," Netanyahu said, a day after Iran and six world powers, including the U.S., reached the historic agreement. "Iran has killed more Americans than anyone other than al Qaeda."

"They're going to get hundreds of billions of dollars to fuel their terror and military machine," he added.

***

VIENNA — Iran and world powers capped a decade-long dispute by reaching a historic deal early Tuesday for Tehran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions.

The Islamic republic has been negotiating with the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China for years, with diplomats most recently extending numerous deadlines in hopes of arriving at a workable and comprehensive plan.

President Barack Obama said the deal with Tehran ensures that "every pathway to a nuclear weapon" had been cut off.

 "We have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region," he said in an early-morning statement which — in a rare move — was carried on Iranian television.

His remarks appeared aimed at reassuring close U.S. allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, who have vehemently opposed a deal and insisted Iran cannot be trusted with a nuclear program of any kind.

Obama said that if Iran violates the terms of the agreement, sanctions will be snapped back into place.

The deal is "not built on trust," he explained. "It is built on verification."

 The president spoke after Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the agreement a "historic moment" and a "win-win solution" with the potential to usher in a "new chapter of hope" in relations.

"We are reaching an agreement that is not perfect for anybody but it is what we could accomplish and it is an important achievement for all of us," he said early Tuesday. "Today could have been the end of hope on this issue but now we are starting a new chapter of hope."

Both Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry billed the agreement as critical to averting broader conflict, with Kerry telling NBC News that "Israel is safer" as a result — but Israeli officials insisted it would have the opposite effect.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal gave Iran a "sure path to nuclear weapons" while Science Minister Danny Danon called the accord "dangerous for the entire free world."

 However, the EU's chief negotiator stressed the terms were "balanced" and respected the interests of "all sides."

"It's not only a deal," Federica Mogherini said at a press conference formally announcing the accord. "It's a good deal."

The comprehensive agreement — which runs more than 80 pages — was clinched after marathon overnight negotiations in Vienna.

It involves limiting Iran's nuclear production for 10 years and Tehran's access to nuclear fuel and equipment for 15 years in return for hundreds of millions of dollars in sanctions relief. However, the sanctions would not be lifted until Iran proves to the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has met its obligations under the terms of the deal.

The agreement includes the provision of a "snap back" mechanism that could lead to the reinstatement of sanctions within 65 days if Iran violates the terms of the deal, according to officials.

 The deal still faces a vote in Congress, although it is unclear whether Republicans and some Democrats who object to the deal will actually be able to override the decision — and Obama threatened Tuesday to veto any attempt to reject the accord.

Washington was already abuzz even before Obama spoke, with Republican Sen. Ben Sasse saying the administration had "just lit the fuse for a nuclear arms race in the Middle East."

"We all know Iran's neighbors will not sit idly as the world's largest state-sponsor of terror becomes a nuclear-threshold state," Sasse said in a statement.

 Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Congress has an "obligation to vigorously and judiciously review the deal."

"It is in America's national security interest that Iran is blocked from ever having a nuclear weapon," he said in a statement. "Negotiators have spent painstaking time and untold effort working on this accord. Congress in turn must fulfill its oversight responsibilities."