Recycling educational display tours Oahu libraries

The City Department of Environmental Services’ recycling educational display is touring Oahu libraries, starting in March with Kapolei Public Library and moving to the Hawaii State Library on South King Street in April during Earth Month.

The display features the new curbside recycling program and life-size representations of the cast of The Green Channel, the new interactive, digital television channel on Oceanic Time Warner Cable 332, and online at www.opala.org.

Library visitors can watch current episodes of The Green Channel’s “Opalavision,” take photos alongside the life-sized cutouts of the actors, peruse through a selection of recycling and opala-related books available for loan, and check out the blue/green/gray recycling carts to see how cool recycling can be. Opala educational programs are being offered at each library, including recycled craft activities, storytelling, and workshops on “Garbology.”

Adult and children’s books about garbage are far more interesting than you might think with titles including, Worms Eat My Garbage by Mary Appelhof, Smash Trash! by Laura Driscoll, Rubbish by Dr. William Rathje, The Dumpster Diver by Janet Wong, Composting for Dummies by Cathy Cromell, Everything Green Classroom Book by Tessa Hill, Sneaky Green Uses for Everyday Things by Cy Tymony, Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel, and Garbage, Waste, Dumps and You: The Disgusting Story Behind What We Leave Behind by Connie Colwell Miller.

ENV is donating additional books to further enhance the State Libraries’ selection.  Each participating library in the tour receives its own set of 19 books. Additionally, three sets of another 12 books will be donated to the Hawaii State Public Library System. These books were on the librarians’ wish lists, and will go into circulation with a bookplate acknowledging ENV’s gift. 

Recycling has never been more prominent in our lives. By May, Oahu’s curbside recycling program will be available island-wide to 160,000 homes.

The recycling educational display is currently scheduled to tour eight public libraries on Oahu, and other libraries are expected to be added later:

  * March 2010 - Kapolei Public Library (1020 Manawai, Phone 693-7050, contact Sheryl Lynch or Stacie Kanno, Branch Manager).
  * April - Hawaii State Library (478 S. King Street, Phone 586-3550, contact Baron Baroza or Diane Eddy, Director).
  * May - Kaimuki Public Library (1041 Koko Head Avenue, Phone 733-8422, contact Mysti LePage, Acting Branch Manager).
  * June - Pearl City Public Library (1138 Waimano Home Road, Phone 453-6566, contact Les Yanagi).
  * July - Waianae Public Library (85-625 Farrington Hwy., Phone 697-7868, contact Faith Arakawa, Branch Manager).
  * August—Waipahu Public Library (94-275 Mokuola St., Phone 675-0358, contact Arlene Ching or Christine Mogilewicz).
  * September—Liliha Public Library (1515 Liliha Street, Phone 587-7577, contact Janet Yap or Sylvia Mitchell, Branch Manager).
  * October—Salt Lake-Moanalua Public Library (3225 Salt Lake Blvd., Phone 831-6831, contact Duane Wenzel, Branch Manager).

Susan Nakata, Section Manager, Library Development Services, worked collaboratively with ENV staff to coordinate the libraries and the educational tour.  She can be contacted at 831-6878.  For more information on the City’s recycling program, call 768-3200 or visit www.opala.org.