TRASH

HOTELS ARE LEADERS IN RECYCLING PAPER HERE

I want to take this opportunity to respond to Bill Parker's Oct. 3 letter regarding recycling in hotels.

Hawai'i's hotels are leaders in recycling in Hawai'i. All of our hotels have recycling programs, but don't necessarily directly involve their guests in the sorting of the materials.

Some have recognized that being green is a plus in the minds of their guests, while others feel that their main job is to provide a comfortable, elegant experience, and ask guests to participate in sorting may not achieve that goal, so they handle it behind the scenes.

In his letter, Bill Parker specifically questions why magazines and pamphlets weren't recycled at the hotel. The explanation is that Honolulu has approached waste reduction with a strategy that does not target all paper for recycling.

Recycling higher-value paper, such as office paper, newspaper and corrugated cardboard is required at most businesses and is collected in the city's residential programs. But the lower-value paper, including magazines, pamphlets, junk mail, cereal boxes, etc., provides far greater value to O'ahu in energy production at the waste-to-energy facility than shipping it off to distant markets to be made into new paper products.

Through a combination of material recycling and energy recycling, O'ahu diverts more than 50 percent of its waste from landfills.

We hope that plans to increase collection programs and expand waste-to-energy capacity will push diversion rates higher.

CHARITIES

COMPENSATION DATA MUST BE READ CAREFULLY

While I applaud The Advertiser's recent series on charities and its efforts at providing Hawai'i donors with a searchable database of Hawai'i's charitable organizations, I would caution readers and suggest they dig a little deeper to understand the numbers presented.

For example, one search will rank the charities by the highest-paid "executive." Some organizations include as "compensation" amounts for health, disability, and life insurance premiums as well as retirement and other employee benefits. Others include only the salary. Unless one actually pulls up the organization's Form 990 on Guidestar.org and reviews it, however, that information is not readily determinable.

In addition, while the title on this particular search indicates that the compensation is for the highest-paid executive, i.e., officers, directors, trustees or other key employees, the person listed may be an employee who holds two roles for the organization yet only gets paid for the one that is not the executive position.

Perhaps The Advertiser's editors will consider modifying their database slightly to only pick up the salaries of the executives so the numbers are a little less misleading, or at least let the readers know they could be comparing full compensation packages to salary only.

NO SMOKING

IF ONLY HAWAI'I WAS A 'HEALTH DESTINATION'

After reading a recent letter voicing concern that Japanese visitors will stop coming to Hawai'i since they may not smoke in our restaurants and bars, it was encouraging to see the number of smoke-free hotels, restaurants and other public and private facilities in Japan.

We just returned from a visit to Tokyo and Yokohama and found there are even some places where smoking is prohibited on the streets (Chiyodo-ku in Tokyo, for example), and violators are fined 50,000 yen, the same amount as if they threw a cigarette butt on the street, sidewalk, or in a gutter. That's more than $400. Violators are given a warning on the first offense, then fined.

We noticed "smoking room" signs in some facilities, such as the smoke-free Tokyo City Air Terminal. We can learn from the Japanese.

Recent surveys show a steady decrease in the number of smokers in Japan, and we were reminded that JAL was the first international air carrier to ban smoking on flights between Japan and Hawai'i, even before our new health laws went into effect.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if Hawai'i could be thought of all over the world as the "health destination," where no one smoked?

Think of all the people who would vacation here just to get away from an unhealthy situation where they live or where they used to visit. They outnumber, by far, the smokers who vacation only where smoking is permitted, and where there are no laws to protect the health of the public.

SUPERFERRY

RESIDENTS SAY IT'S TIME TO STAND UP FOR BELIEFS

It's time to wake up and see what is happening all around us.

Big business has taken over our politicians, and is pushing their developments and projects at the expense of our environment, the Hawaiian culture and its people.

Gov. Linda Lingle came to Kaua'i threatening us and to force the Superferry's agenda down our throats, and we did not appreciate it.

We have been nice and aloha on Kaua'i for years — and it did not work. Projects have been pushed down our throats and we are sick of it. It's time to stand up for what you believe in, and not continue the plantation mentality of "be seen but not heard."

Look what it has gotten you living on O'ahu — more traffic, more pollution and more development. Who is benefiting from all of this? Stand up for your own issues, because your island is dying.

We will be ready for the Superferry when it comes, not just the "hippies," but locals, all together who care for our 'aina. Time to be "nice" is over.

COMMUTING

ILLEGAL HOV DRIVERS UNFAIR TO LAW ABIDERS

In my morning commute to Downtown from Waikele, it seems that at least half of the cars in the HOV lane are single-occupant vehicles breaking a basic traffic law.

There are posted signs that read "Restricted Lane, 2 or more" or "$200 violation," and of course, the big painted diamond lining the HOV lane is at every mile or so. Typically, these drivers unsafely cut right in front of you to get out of the slower-paced lane they were in, forcing you to brake to avoid rear-ending them.

It's not fair to the single-occupant drivers who abide by the law. It is especially not fair to the people who are carpooling.

I travel in the HOV lane with my wife. We've had to change and tweak our work schedules to carpool together. To see these single-occupant vehicles in the HOV lane is very displeasing. The other option is for me to drive in the Zipper lane, but lately, it seems like it's been flowing slower than the freeway.

HPD should step up enforcing the HOV law.

RECYCLING

HI-5 SURPLUS SHOULD GO BACK TO CONSUMERS

At least Mayor Mufi Hannemann got it half right. His letter, "HI-5 surplus shouldn't be windfall for state" (Oct. 1), is correct, except that the city shouldn't receive any of the windfall either.

With HI-5 removing millions of bottles, cans and plastic containers from the landfill, the city is already benefiting, but now with money in the bank the mayor is itching to get his hands on our deposit money.

The Leeward Coast community benefits package that Mayor Mufi implemented is nothing more than an attempt to bribe Wai'anae and Nanakuli residents.

The landfill is more than five miles from either of these areas and trucks do not go through these areas to get to it.

If anything, the residents of Makakilo and Honokai Hale should be receiving all of these benefits, as the trash blows through their yards every day.

If the HI-5 surplus goes anywhere, it should go back to the people who paid it, and reduce the deposit to 3 cents per container.

BURMESE PROTESTS

OTHER NATIONS RELY ON MYANMAR'S RESOURCES

John Hoover (Letter, Oct. 4) is correct in calling for more assistance for the Burmese people. We should do more.

However, he is wrong in asserting that we, i.e. President Bush, don't because there is no oil there. Not true. Burma is loaded in oil and natural gas, along with many other natural resources such as minerals, timber and fisheries.

Its main customers are China, North Korea, India and Thailand. That is where the problem lies. These consumer nations are reluctant to anger their supplier, the ruling Burmese army generals.

Imagine: Thai military leaders who took power and ousted their prime minister in a coup speaking out against the repressive Burmese military who did the same?

It has to get a lot more bloody and more lives have to be lost before anything gets done — as usual.