As part of the effort to increase recycling and reduce litter by the Department of Environmental Management, the County of Hawai‘i is offering the use of recycling containers for special events. The containers are designed with a steel frame that sets up easily and within minutes. It is also lightweight, stackable and easy to transport. The HI-5 beverage container recycle bins are free of charge to those that are hosting events on our island.
It’s simple! Just fax or email a completed EVENT RECYCLING CONTAINER RESERVATION FORM or contact: Craig Kawaguchi at 961-8549 or email
RESERVATION DETAILS:
- Pick up and drop off is by appointment on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. Complete the EVENT RECYCLING CONTAINER RESERVATION FORM and send it in to the appropriate staff. Reservations are subject to availability and accepted on a first come, first serve basis. Reservations must be confirmed before pick-up.
- East Hawai‘i pick-up and drop-off location is 108 Railroad Avenue, Hilo. Please contact Craig Kawaguchi at 961-8549 for more information. Nobody is stationed at this location.
- For West and North Hawai‘i events, pick-up and drop-off location is at the West Hawaii Civic Center, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. It is located in the storage area next to Building F. Please contact Craig Kawaguchi at 961-8549 for more information. Nobody is stationed at this location.
- When set up, the dimensions are 40″ height x 27″ length x 19″ width.
- The dimension of the closed frame is 40″ height x 3″ width x 24″ length.
- The ClearStream recycling container takes 40″ width x 46″ length (clear) plastic bags. The County does not supply the bags. Plastic bags are available locally for purchase.
- The container lids are decaled with HI-5 for recycling of deposit beverage containers.
- Your organization is responsible for coordinating the redemption of the containers collected. Please call us to schedule a return appointment and clean/wipe down the cover(s) and bin(s) before returning.
ZERO WASTE EVENT PLANNING
Are you planning an event or activity? How about hosting a “Zero Waste Event?” The goal is to reduce waste to the greatest extent possible. Event planning is key to creating a successful Zero Waste event. Identify areas where you can reduce or eliminate waste and then set goals for yourself. It’s possible to even cut costs with some of these strategies. Here are some tips on how to Reduce, Reuse, & Recyle your way to your very own Zero Waste event. There are some additional resources to help “green” your event. And, remember, be creative and have fun!
TIPS FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON:
REDUCE
- Encourage all your guests to carpool.
- Use electronic invites via email. Forecast the head count so that there aren’t large amounts of wasted food at the end of the event.
- Keep decorations to a minimum, and if you do decorate, do it with flowers and fruits from the garden.
- Buy fresh, local, unpackaged, and/or bulk foods when possible. You can reduce your carbon footprint by buying in-season, local food products, everything from eggs, meat, vegetables, beer and wine. Buy local, organic vegetables at your local farmer’s market. Buy local produced and/or organic beer, wine, and liquor. And rather than buy bottled beer consider whether it is more cost effective to order a keg. And if you must, put some unique happy holiday stickers on each person’s glass to make sure everyone can recognize their glass rather than getting another one when they can’t distinguish theirs from anybody elses on the table.
- Cook multiple items in the same oven, ditch the 8 hour roast and BBQ instead.
- Run appliances like your dishwasher on full loads only.
- Give leftover canned goods and unused, unprepared food to your local food bank.
- Make sure your Christmas lights (if you must) are on a timer and shorten the length of time they’re on. Set it to after sunset and have them turn off automatically around bedtime.
- If you must use electric or gas lights to illuminate your event put them on a timer to eliminate energy waste. And as a bonus your guests will know when to go home!
- Use candles at the dinner table and lower the lights to save on electricity.
REUSE
- Use reusable plates, flatware, glasses, tablecloths and linen, and if you don’t have enough of these items, then see if you can borrow from family or friends. If you must use single-use disposables use compostable tableware and work the leftovers into your compost.
- Take a reusable shopping bag when you go to buy groceries or to any other retailer to avoid the use of single-use disposable plastic bags.
- Have a cloth napkin or towel handy in place of paper towels or napkins.
RECYCLE
- Make sure you recycle all your mixed recycling; for example plastics with resin codes #1 & #2, aluminum food containers, wrapping paper, gift boxes, wine and beer bottles can all be recycled.
- Set up a composting system to divert all preparation and post-consumer food discards and other food-contaminated organics like paper and cardboard.
- Recycle you holiday lights at Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores (Kona) at their Customer Service Counter from December to the first week of January. Or try Holiday LEDs mail-in recycling program, http://www.holidayleds.com/christmas-light-recycling-program.aspx, and get a discount on new lights. Holiday LED’s program runs from October to February only.