Schnitzer Steel has misled the Honolulu City Council about the company’s need for a $1.9 million annual subsidy, its longtime general manager told Civil Beat.
“They certainly can afford to pay their fair share,” James Banigan said. “There is no question about that.”
Banigan, who left the company in December, also said Schnitzer Steel does not pay as much for community recycling programs as it suggested to the City Council, and that his boss told him to threaten to end those programs if the company didn’t get what it wanted from the council. A spokesman said he didn’t expect Schnitzer would respond to that claim.
The council is considering whether to end the subsidy, with some members arguing the city can’t afford it and others concerned that it can’t afford to lose a community recycling program run by Schnitzer.
