Plenty places to recycle
I’m writing this letter to enforce the fact that Hi-5 redemption is still readily available on the Big Island, even with the closing of the Waimea, Hilo and Kealakehe transfer station sites.
For years I’ve been trying to convince the county that these sites were an unneeded duplication of services that are already conveniently available in these communities. Their focus from the start should have been to promote the private recycling companies in these communities and to concentrate their efforts on the outlying smaller communities that are financially harder for the private companies to service.
One reason is that when the day comes, and it certainly would at some point, to have to close the sites in question it will send the community in a panic and create a whole lot of confusion.
In Kona, my company, Atlas Recycling, has a site 100 yards from the Kealakehe Transfer Station. You drive past it on your way. This site will be open, and on the days it isn’t, our Alapa center will be open (seven days a week).
In Waimea, our recycling center is located on the Hilo side of town and is open four days per week. I admit it’s a longer drive from the other side of town, but let’s admit Waimea is a small town, and most of the business hub is no more than two minutes from our location. With multiple days open, it should add to the convenience.
In Hilo, there are three recycling centers to serve the community. You can hardly drive to the Hilo Transfer Station without coming within blocks of a recycling center. Atlas has a site on Waianuenue and Makaala Street, and Mr. K’s has a site on Kinoole Street. If you live in Hilo, you should be quite familiar with these locations.
At all the Atlas sites, you can leave your cardboard boxes. At our Waimea site, our Alapa site in Kona, and our Makaala site in Hilo we offer many other recycling opportunities. You can check out our website, www.atlasrecyclingcenter.com, for all the information you’ll need.
In closing, recycling is alive and well on the Big Island. You may need to drive a few blocks further, but you will find the services you’ve come to expect somewhere close at hand.
Michael Allen
Atlas Recycling, Hilo
Safe, accessible abortions
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision impacting reproductive rights is devastating.
However, while abortions remain legal in Hawaii, I’m concerned many don’t realize how inaccessible they are. Many who need these crucial services on our rural islands have to travel off-island or to the continent. It is expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally and physically exhausting.
If the services aren’t accessible, it doesn’t matter how legal they may be; they might as well be illegal if people cannot access them. In fact, multiple friends I know just had to reschedule abortions multiple times due to doctor unavailability or travel out of state to have these life-saving procedures done.
I say life-saving, because it’s a mental health emergency (regardless of any other circumstances surrounding the pregnancy) for a person to be forced to carry an unwanted or unviable pregnancy to term.
Also, let me correct for the record. Abortions are still subject to specific regulations here in Hawaii. Our laws are confusing, and the language is unclear.
Our medical professionals are not properly educated on the details of the law, either. Let’s put our values into practice and reform our laws to be clear and actually guarantee reproductive health care to all, and then let’s fund the hospitals and clinics to staff them with people who are qualified to preform these procedures safely.
And, while we’re at it, let’s give all nurse practitioners the power to prescribe abortion medication when the pregnancy is still at an early enough stage to do so.
I’m hopeful this recent news will motivate people to be more politically active and support expanding the Supreme Court and electing pro-choice leaders. We still have much work to do here in Hawaii to ensure safe and accessible abortions are available for anyone who may need them.
Shannon Matson
Kurtistown
