Hawaii’s recently enacted mandated recycling program for beverage containers was not initiated to boost recycling, but rather to take more of the public’s money, grow government and allow lawmakers to spend more on their favorite social programs.
Let’s face it, there isn’t a problem with aluminum cans lying on the side of the road because there already is plenty of incentive to collect these cans and turn them in for payment.
What is the real problem? Hawaii’s politicos didn’t feel they were getting their share the public’s hard earned cash — even though Hawaii has the highest taxes in the nation.
So, as per usual practice by Hawaii politicians, they used the guise of “protecting the environment” to get their hands on more money. Funny how the taxpayers’ money is always taken under some disguise or scare tactic.
Another negative to the new program, in the past, parents could teach their kids the value of money by having the kids go out and earn money by picking up cans and turning them in for recycling.
Now, with the new law, no matter how many cans kids pick up or turn in, they will always be at least a penny behind. That is because the lawmakers set up a first-in-the-nation system, which taxes purchasers of cans and bottles 6 cents, but refunds just 5 cents or less per can. What kind of economics lesson is that?
And why do lawmakers need to charge the penny to run the program when they are collecting the cash from the recycled materials? They don