LANDFILL PROBLEMS ENCOURAGE RECYCLING

Oahu’s serious landfill problems are exposed in the news recently.
Since Maui is following Oahu in over development and increased tourism, we
can expect increased landfill problems in the future as well.

So why are we following Oahu’s example and purchasing new refuse trucks and providing residents with extremely large free trash bins?  We are only
encouraging future landfill problems with convenient trash pickups.

It seems more logical for Maui County to invest our tax dollars in
convenient curbside recycling.  By providing free recycling bins and pickup
service to each household, more recyclable items will be diverted from the
landfill, thus prolonging the life and future problems of landfill space.

Maui should model other successful recycling states and consider a "pay as
you throw" system where each bag of trash is charged individually.  In some
states, you have to purchase pre-paid trash bag tags.  Bags with out tags
are not picked up.

For this election year, encourage your lawmakers and government agencies to
do what is best for Maui¹s landfill future.  Make trash pickups expensive
and provide free curbside recycling, then we will see increased recycling on
Maui.

Tonya Duncan