Old phone books to be used to generate energy

HONOLULU (AP) — Old, unwanted phone books on Oahu are being collected to eventually recycle and generate power.

Officials for Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages and its sales agent said more than 170,000 old phone books were recycled on Oahu last year.

Oahu Branch Manager Ray Carulli, of The Berry Company, said its “Think Yellow Go Green” campaign is consistently most successful in Honolulu compared with other markets.

Officials said the phone books will be recycled into refuse-derived fuel for Hawaiian Electric Company.

Books are being collected at several malls around the island during certain dates in January, with radio stations running promotions to give prizes to recyclers.