Question: Have the green trailers replaced the drive-thru, drop-off events? I haven’t heard of one of those in a while, and I liked that they would unload my car because I have quite a bit of stuff to get rid of.
Answer: No. You are referring to separate recycling organizations and events.
The periodic Going Green community recycling events, where volunteers unload participants’ cars of e-waste and other accepted items, are ongoing. There’s one scheduled for 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at Mililani Mauka Elementary School, 95-1111 Makaikai St., said organizer Rene Mansho.
Going Green accepts the following used items, keeping discards out of the landfill with the help of industry and nonprofit partners: computers, printers and scanners (one load per car); TVs (one per car); batteries (auto and lead-acid only; no flashlight batteries); HI-5 containers (redeemable plastic and aluminum); eyeglasses and hearing aids; clothing, including prom-style dresses and accessories; towels and blankets; nonperishable pet food, plus canned goods for the Hawaii Foodbank, according to Mansho’s email.
Don’t bring any of the following, which are not accepted at Going Green events: metal, tires, paint, cooking oil, motor oil, ink cartridges, toner, hazardous fluids, cardboard or other paper, plastics (other than HI-5 redeemables), wood, bulky items or lithium, nickel cadmium or nickel hydride batteries, it said.
Volunteers from groups hosting these events unload the cars. Schools, churches and other organizations that want to host can call Mansho at 808-291-6151 for more information; 15 volunteers and an easily accessible parking lot are required.
By contrast, the green trailers mentioned in the question belong to GreenDrop, a for-profit company that accepts donations of gently used clothing, small kitchen appliances and other household goods on behalf of nonprofit partners such as the American Red Cross and the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Hawaii. GreenDrop pays the nonprofits a bulk rate for the donated items, which are later sold at Savers thrift stores; the charities get money rather than stuff. There are five GreenDrop trailers on Oahu, where people can drop off items seven days a week during regular business hours, according to the company’s website. See gogreen drop.com/what-we- accept for a list of accepted items as well as links to locations and a list of items GreenDrop does not accept.
Q: Who will name the baby rhinoceros? When will the name be chosen?
A: “A naming contest will be held when the baby goes out on exhibit. The zoo will announce details soon,” Brandi Higa, a city spokesperson, said Thursday in an email.
The Honolulu Zoo announced Tuesday that a male Eastern black rhinoceros was born there April 19, the first offspring of Aria (mother) and Kendi (father), the breeding pair brought to the zoo from San Diego in 2022 as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.
For now, Aria and son are not on exhibit, but are expected to be within a few months, the city said Tuesday in a news release. Kendi is on display at the zoo as usual.
Auwe
I have never seen as many vehicles on our roadways blatantly driving around with expired safety checks and tax emblems as there are now. Unfortunately, it likely also equates to these vehicles not having insurance as well. Auwe! — A reader
Mahalo
Mahalo to the two kind and competent senior ladies and young gentleman who assisted us Sunday at the Kaimuki parking lot. We had trouble using the ticket machines, and they went out of their way to help us. — Two seniors
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.