The new pilot project for curbside residential recycling that's slated to begin on Oct. 29 in Mililani and Hawai'i Kai will soon operate differently in each neighborhood, Mayor Mufi Hannemann announced yesterday.

If the City Council approves a proposed fee, Mililani residents will have the option of paying $30 per quarter to continue twice-weekly garbage collection after a transition period ends in early January.

But Hawai'i Kai residents will not have that choice, so garbage will be collected there once per week after the transition term, Hannemann said.

The city wants to study whether recycling will be more effective one way or the other, and Councilman Charles Djou, who represents Hawai'i Kai, has supported the idea of reducing twice-weekly trash pickup to encourage recycling, Hannemann said.

"We're taking him at his word, that this is something he believes can be done," he said. "So therefore, we wanted to utilize Hawai'i Kai as the pilot community for that particular project."

The announcement raised questions of whether Hannemann was trying to punish Djou's political base because of his frequent feuds with the councilman over other city issues.

Hannemann said that was not the case, and Djou said he was not overly concerned by the pending reduction in garbage collection.

"I hope politics didn't play a part in it, but that's a minor thing," Djou said. "The important thing is getting curbside recycling rolled out islandwide."

Djou noted that former Mayors Frank Fasi and Jeremy Harris had launched recycling programs that never moved beyond the pilot stage.

"I think, enough with the pilot projects," he said. "It's time to just do it. I think the administration is being dragged kicking and screaming to do curbside recycling."

Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board chairman Greg Knudsen said he was pleased that the neighborhood will be included.

"Hawai'i Kai residents are very environmentally conscious, and I think will be proud to be part of this program and do their best to make it work," he said.

Voters overwhelmingly approved a 2006 city charter amendment that added curbside recycling to the city's environmental duties. The measure did not mention a fee connected to garbage collection.

City recycling coordinator Suzanne Jones said households that prove they are recycling and still need an extra garbage bin will receive one for free. But both bins will be emptied once per week unless the household is in Mililani and pays the optional fee for twice-weekly collection, she said.

The pilot project will serve about 20,000 households, and Hannemann said he was serious about expanding it and making it a success.

But he said he was concerned that an islandwide effort is expected to divert less than 3 percent more material from the Waimanalo Gulch landfill, because much is already recycled.

The pilot project is expected to cost up to $1.5 million, while an islandwide program could cost $9 million per year, officials said.

The city will likely have to pay garbage workers overtime to collect trash in Mililani on the optional second day per week, environmental services director Eric Takamura said.

But that could change after it becomes clear how many households will need twice-weekly trash collection, and a regular collection route is established, he said.

The city has not yet hired a company to process and sort mixed recyclables that are collected, but should request proposals soon, he said.

The city will begin evaluating the pilot program's effectiveness after six months, and could add other communities soon after.

If recycling is expanded to the Leeward Coast, the city should consider continuing twice-weekly garbage collection there without a fee, to help compensate the community for hosting the landfill, Hannemann said.

The site's operating permit expires in less than nine months, but Hannemann hopes to have it extended for two years. He is also pushing for state permission to expand the landfill so it can be operated for at least 15 more years.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.