Question: Our organization has stopped collecting Capri Sun juice pouches. If there is a school or organization in Honolulu collecting these pouches (which are redeemed for 2 cents per pouch), we would be glad to donate our collection of pouches for their redemption. We have approximately 4,000 pouches. Do you know of any groups collecting them?
Answer: No, but because you have such a large number to share, we’d be happy to put the word out via Kokua Line. We’ll forward you the contact information for the first organization that emails us at kokualine@staradvertiser.com and has the means to transport all those leftover pouches.
Some groups might use the drink pouches as craft supplies, transforming them into wallets, purses and other consumer goods.
It’s too bad that Hawaii apparently is not included in the “Drink Pouch Brigade” supported by Capri Sun and TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based company that specializes in “upcycling” traditionally nonrecyclable waste such as drink pouches into a variety of products, including duffel bags, totes and other fashion accessories. The remade goods are sold online and at major retailers. The program provides free shipping for the empty pouches and pays a small fee for those redeemed in bulk, but only mainland states are listed in what’s billed as a national effort on the TerraCycle website.
Meanwhile a consortium of environmental groups continues to urge Kraft Foods, maker of Capri Sun, to package the drinks in containers that are easier to recycle or compost, and to take responsibility for the plastic waste the popular product generates. The group UPSTREAM is coordinating the “Make It, Take It” campaign.
Q: I live in a neighborhood where on-street parking is a nightmare. Homes designed for when families had only one car now have multiple cars, sometimes two per person. Some homes have been modified for renters or extended family members — all needing cars. Is there anything in the accessory dwelling unit legislation that requires owners to provide on-premise parking for the new inhabitants? If not, the nightmare is only going to get worse.
A: Yes. The Oahu measure signed into law last month as Ordinance 15-41 requires one parking space to be located on the lot per accessory dwelling unit, in addition to the off-street parking required for the primary dwelling unit. Compact stalls and tandem parking are permitted for the ADUs.
However, it’s important to note that ADUs built within a half-mile of a rail transit station avoid this requirement; they do not have to have a parking stall on the property. Under the law, the distance would be measured as the shortest straight line between the edge of the station and the zoning lot line(s) of the ADU property site.
Providing more affordable rental units within reach of Oahu’s coming elevated rail-transit system is an important goal of the new ADU law. It’s foreseeable, though, that some ADU residents might have cars and no off-street place to park them.
Other Kokua Line readers have raised similar concerns. They worry that if this law is not enforced — regarding not only parking, but also residency requirements and other factors — the character of their neighborhoods will change. City leaders have said they are committed to proper enforcement and to maintaining and enhancing Honolulu’s appeal.
Read more about the ADU law and its specific requirements at honoluludpp.org.
Auwe
Auwe to dog owners who let their dogs bark all day long from early morning to the evening. They have no respect for their neighbors or the people who walk by. There is a house on our street that has four dogs that bark all day long. A big auwe to them! No aloha! — Fed up
Mahalo
I would like to thank the honest person who found my set of keys and cellphone at Zippy’s Kaneohe and turned them in. I got a call from Zippy’s to pick up my lost items. Again, mahalo. — Relieved diner
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
