MAUI HAS MANY RECYCLING PROGRAMS

The writer said he "was amazed that Maui did not recycle." I'm amazed that, in two years living on Maui, he hasn't heard of Aloha Glass Recycling, Aloha Plastic Recycling, Joy of Worms, Maui Earth Compost, Maui Earthkeepers Earthworm Farms, Hawaii Tire Disposing, Maui Scrap Metal, Pacific Biodiesel, Pua'a Foodwaste Service, Reynolds Aluminum, and Unitek Solvent Services - all local companies that have been recycling on Maui for far longer than two years.

Maybe he was referring to the lack of curbside recycling on Maui. That service, too, has been offered by Maui Recycling Service for years.

He commented that another Maui company (EKO Compost) composts greenwaste "but it is mixing the compost with sewage sludge, which I believe is detrimental to the environment." The State of Hawaii Dept. of Health and the EPA disagree with you: Ongoing daily tests of air, water, and leachate from the EKO windrows, show that amount of harmful substances are far less than the national health limits. It's good stuff. He also fails to mention another Maui business, Maui Earth Compost, that also produces a completely organic product from greenwaste. Tim Gunter has been in business in Puunene for years and recently got a permit to operate a second site in Kihei.

To educate himself on the many successful recycling programs that have been introduced to Maui County during the past 15 years, the writer may want to check out www.mauirecyclinggroup.org or pick up the latest copy of The Recycling Guide, now in its 13th edition.

Joy Webster
Editor, The Recycling Guide
Makawao

August 5, 2004