Mayor Mufi Hannemann and city officials will discuss plans for a new curbside recycling pilot program in Hawai'i Kai tonight, followed by another meeting with Mililani residents tomorrow night.

Hannemann last week announced plans to begin a new pilot project for curbside residential recycling on Oct. 29 in Hawai'i Kai and Mililani. The program could later be expanded islandwide.

The pilot project will operate differently in Mililani and Hawai'i Kai so the city can study the effectiveness of each system, officials said.

If the City Council approves a proposed fee, Mililani residents will have the option to pay $30 a quarter to continue twice-weekly garbage collection after a transition period ends in early January.

For Hawai'i Kai residents, garbage will be collected once a week after the transition period.

City officials will begin evaluating the pilot program after six months, after which the program may be expanded to other communities.

Carole Siegel, a longtime resident of Mililani, said she's "definitely interested" in the pilot program and hopes it works.

"I think it's going to get more people involved" in recycling, said Siegel, who sits on the Mililani/Waipi'o/Melemanu Neighborhood Board. "Trying to find a recycling center that's either open or will take your things can be a real hassle at times and to be able to just take it out to your curb and know that it's going to be recycled is an incentive to a lot of people to get them involved."

Officials said the pilot project — which will serve about 20,000 households — will cost up to $1.5 million and that an islandwide program could cost $9 million annually.

New recycling bins will be delivered later this month, along with instructional brochures. Households that prove they are recycling and still need an extra garbage bin will receive one for free, officials said.

O'ahu voters approved a 2006 city charter amendment that added curbside recycling to the city's environmental duties.

The city had a similar recycling project in Mililani more than three years ago, but it was halted by a dispute with the United Public Workers union, which represents city garbage workers.

Then-Mayor Jeremy Harris had planned to expand a privatized recycling project islandwide, but the United Public Workers successfully argued it would violate an agreement allowing the city to shift from manual garbage collection to automated collection.

Under Hannemann's plan, UPW members will collect recyclables. The city has yet to hire a company to process and sort mixed recyclables that are collected.