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.