Maui Meadows Residents Propose Three Can Plan Continuation

Buck Joiner, a Maui Meadows resident has written a proposal to the Maui County Council to extend the three can plan on a paid-for basis. The Solid Waste Division issued a report stating the additional cost for the 3 can plan should be $22/month.  However, any increase in the rate has to be approved by the County Council. At this moment, the Maui county budget is in the county council approval process and within that document is a statement that the ADDITIONAL cost for the 3 Can Plan cannot be more than $6/month. That will be approved when the budget is approved in the first (May 26) and second (June 5) readings.

After June 5 the County Budget is official,  and then Maui residents  have to convince the mayor and Solid Waste Division and the Director of Environmental Management that they should indeed restart the 3 Can Plan for $6 more per month. According to Daniel Kanahele, board member of Kihei Community Association, the $22 dollar suggestion is  not a possibility.

Kanahele suggests that we need to focus  getting the County to actually restart the 3 Can Plan for $6/month on top of the normal refuse pickup fee.  After June 5, the County Council is no longer a part of the approval process. Kanehele is asking for a LOT more letters to the mayor and the newspapers to make this happen.

Below is Buck’s Letter to the Editor:

“When the 3 Can Plan was proposed, I opposed it since I already recycled. After the pilot plan was implemented in South Kihei, I realized that suddenly all of my neighbors were participating in recycling. It was easy, effective and the participation rate dramatically increased.

The pilot program was terminated early because the county Department of Environmental Management said it was too expensive. After significant protest, the mayor agreed to allow participants to keep the blue and green cans until the additional cost for the 3 Can Plan could be determined.

The department has stated that picking up two blue (recyclables) and two green (green waste) costs $22 per month more than picking up four brown cans, which are dumped into the landfill.

Let’s examine. The number of truck runs is essentially the same, only the color of the cans is different. The green waste is dropped off at EKO Compost at no charge, plus there is the benefit of saving space in the landfill.

The blue cans contain recyclable items with monetary value, including HI-5 returnables. Commercial recyclers on Maui handle those materials and make money on them and yet the department says it costs $11 to deal with the contents of one blue can.

It is obvious the department is opposed to recycling and will fabricate phony numbers to support that position. The Environmental Protection Agency says curbside recycling costs $5.89 per month. The council set the fee at $6 per month. Let’s do this.”

Buck Joiner, Kihei