A-flow-ha Hawaii: The impact of the Supreme Courtīs
recent flow control decision crossed the Pacific in no time
flat. In the wake of that ruling, Honolulu officials have
abruptly reversed their long-held stance opposing shipment
of the cityīs trash to landfills in the mainland United
States.
The Honolulu Advertiser (the newspaper, not an
advertiser)
reports that barges may start hauling trash
toward mainland landfills as early as the end of this year,
provided that the city is able to control the flow of that
trash and collect a fee for each ton shipped.
Says Honolulu environmental services executive assistant
Martin Okabe: "We changed our position. We are not opposed
to shipping, but we are opposed to losing flow control."
Spring Closet Cleaning: Minnesota recently became
the fifth state to require manufacturers of electronic
devices to pay for the recycling of their products when they
die (the products, not their manufacturers). And Oregon
appears poised to become number six.
According to The Oregonian (the newspaper, not some dude
who lives in the Beaver State), the Oregon House of
Representatives
passed a bill Tuesday that would require
manufacturers of TVs, laptops and similar gadgets to either
open their own recycling centers or help pay for shared
sites at which consumers could return the devices free of
charge.
And the Eugene Register-Guard (the newspaper, not ... oh,
never mind) [free registration required]
reports that recyclers in the state are
keenly watching the billīs progress, because, as two
recyclers warily note, it could potentially cost them a
significant chunk of business.
Pete Fehrenbach is assistant managing editor of
Waste News. Past installments of this column are collected
in
the Inbox archive.
