THE AXE AIN’T ALL THAT’S TOO DULL

THE AXE AIN’T ALL THAT’S TOO DULL: Don’t you just love the tone deaf way the county does things. Last week a press release announced that:

The latest edition of the “Kaua`i Recycling Guide” is now available free of charge at all public libraries, HI-5 bottle redemption centers, Kaua`i Resource Center, and the mayor’s office.

Individuals and groups can also contact the County Recycling Office for copies of the recycling guide.

Now the next thing you would expect to read is where to get this valuable information on line- after all, we are talking about keeping trash out of the landfill.

But such intuitive leaps of thought are something Kaua`i county apparently needs to hire a consultant to figure out. A search of the county web site shows no such booklet exists. Instead, the release continues:

“I encourage everyone to pick up a free copy of the Kaua`i Recycling Guide for comprehensive information on the 3Rs and composting,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho, Jr. “If we all do our part to minimize waste and maximize resource recovery, it will help preserve landfill space and conserve our natural resources and energy.”...

The 22-page recycling guide highlights all local waste diversion opportunities with detailed information on how to reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost through a variety of county programs as well as other options.

So in order to “minimize waste and maximize resource recovery, (and) help preserve landfill space and conserve our natural resources and energy” we’re killing who knows how many trees and spending who knows how many taxpayer bucks to print up a bunch of presumably quality 22 page brochures (if it’s on plain white paper we’ll eat one) that people will pick up and possibly read before throwing it in the rubbish where it will no doubt become grist for the landfill.

And if people do keep them we can just imagine conversations that will no doubt ensue.

“Honey, can we recycle this piece of crap we don’t need or want anymore”

“I don’t know, check that recycling guide we picked up six months ago”

“Where is it”

“Oh- It must be here somewhere in this mess- don’t you have it”

“Oh I thought you had it”

“I think we recycled it”

The release doesn’t not say whether the brochures themselves are even recyclable- much less made from recycled materials- since on Kaua`i there actually are paper goods that are not recyclable... along with all sorts of other things you’d normally be able to recycle anywhere else like all plastics 1-7 and steel cans... which is the reason we need such a pamphlet so people will know what recyclables they can throw in the landfill.

There’s a hole in Kekaha dear Liza dear Liza

Can’t anyone here play this game?