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minutes 01-15-00Page 5 of 59
<br />HIGASHI: I probably would favor language that would spell it out, or whichever is most financially responsible.
<br />HERKES: Managed competition?
<br />IRVINE: Maybe we need to talk some more with Recycle Hawaii. They must have at least a handle on what percentage of
<br />people do their own garbage.
<br />HIGASHI: But the bigger issue is, like, talking to Waste Management. Are they making money? Can private people handle
<br />this?
<br />IRVINE: Waste Management presently, if you’ve read about their stock and whatnot, there’s major -
<br />HIGASHI: I don’t want to get into their stock, but if there are other companies and whether private people are financially
<br />able to handle that.
<br />IRVINE: How would we go about that, Roland? How do you think we should -
<br />HERKES: Look up in your phone book under Waste Disposal Firms. Call them up. Talk to Rick Walton. Talk to them.
<br />IRVINE: Do we have some here?
<br />HERKES: Yes, we have some and they do condominiums a lot. That’s a big part of their business is picking up refuse from
<br />condominiums.
<br />SANTANGELO: One thing I’d like to interject. When I was looking at this and went to the LA Sanitation District, where
<br />they had that. One of the things we were warned, and they’re marvelous people, and frankly, we could get one here if we so
<br />desired, and they’re running one of the biggest in the nation, And they had a separation. When it came to the picking up, and
<br />all that kind of stuff, that you left private, but you never let that come into the actual dealing with it, because the dealing with
<br />it had such technology involved, and you know I’m one that’s home rule, but sometimes government does things a little bit
<br />better in having that expertise within your department, and not being held hostage by it at some point. So, there was, in their
<br />recommendation, a separation. And then, if you had the refuse, and you let that get too far in there, there was impacts
<br />financially on the public that were very negative and they could articulate that a lot better than I can, but there was very clear
<br />areas where they departed.
<br />HIGASHI: Mr. Chair.
<br />RAY: Yes?
<br />HIGASHI: Is there a sense of support to having this department, and we kind of take it to the next step in terms of committee
<br />work? Is that where we should go? It seems there’s a lot of small questions.
<br />RAY: I’m a little bit taken off guard. We had two communications from Recycle Hawaii, and one, and I thought we were
<br />focusing on that a little more, was a committee or a Commission for solid waste and the environment. But in an earlier
<br />communication, they had talked about a Department of the Environment, so both are certainly possibilities. So, it sounds like
<br />there’s certainly a level of interest, that we should explore this.
<br />HERKES: I think there is. I don’t know. Gary?
<br />YOSHIYAMA: Let me interject a couple of things. First of all, regarding privatization or managed competition. These are
<br />being discussed, or handled, right now in the State government because last year, I believe, a bill was passed that created a
<br />Commission, or Board, to talk about privatization and moving, at least State Government, and we’ve got to follow some of
<br />those laws, or setting up a mechanism for managed competition, and setting limits, or parameters, for privatization. So that is
<br />being done, and it’s supposed to make a report to the Legislature this 2000 legislative session.
<br />Regarding Department or Commission. I’m a little stuck here because I don’t know whether or not our County has a policy
<br />on the disposition of waste and recycling. And so, without some kind of direction, or policy, I would lean towards a
<br />Commission, rather than setting up a department, because all of us here may have a different idea as to what’s the function of
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