Maui recycling efforts should be standard

Maui County recently awarded an $11,000 grant to developer Kent Smith and contractor Dilloway for their attempt to recycle construction materials at a Pukalani development project.

The project requires workers to separate nearly 105 tons of recycled cardboard, drywall, plastics, and wood into separate dumpsters. The project's pioneers have received great praise for their work in recycling.

Yet shouldn't construction companies be doing this anyway? Granted, the majority of our waste is post-consumer, but construction materials still account for a large percentage of landfill space.

Contractors and developers should be required to recycle construction waste materials. One way to implement this would be to award construction permits only to companies that have arranged for waste material to be recycled.

We have a responsibility to our planet and to the people on it. Surely we can afford to take the simple step of separating and recycling the huge portion of our recyclable waste that comes from construction.