Waimanalo trash piling up
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
WAIMANALO — The cycle of trash in Waimanalo is endless: People dump rubbish in the community, the city or local residents clean it up, and people dump again.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
Trucks, cars, vans, mattresses, sofas, refrigerators, yard clippings, construction debris and automobile parts are left by a few residents of Waimanalo and its neighboring communities, as well as some businesses that are paid to haul trash to the city dump, advocates say.
Trash litters Ahiki Road in Waimanalo, one of the areas where items such as automobile parts, mattresses, refrigerators and construction debris are being dumped illegally. Officials say swift enforcement and community involvement will help solve the problem.
The cycle must end, said Glenn Martinez, president of the Waimanalo Hawai'i Equestrian & Trail Association. Martinez, along with others, is seeking community and government support to reverse a trend that has plagued the area for generations, due partly to its rural, isolated location.
"Here in Waimanalo, we're catching tow companies dropping vehicles on the side of the road," said Martinez. "It's gotten to the point where if we see a car hooked up to a tow company, we follow it."
Martinez said his biggest concern is the recent proliferation of junked cars on the streets. On Aug. 27, he photographed 17 derelict cars in Waimanalo. A recent check of the area revealed that most had been removed by the city, but, he says, government could do more.
"It's a government problem, and the problem is the government is not enforcing the law," he said. A state law fines the registered owner of an abandoned vehicle on public property up to $1,000.
To solve Waimanalo's trash problem, Martinez said the city should expand its Convenience Center in Waimanalo, where people can now leave only certain types of trash. Restricted trash includes lead paint, dead animals, rocks, toxic material and food. He also suggested that there be an area to leave old cars, no questions asked.
Too often the restricted items end up on the side of the road, he said. A week ago the area next to the center was littered with numerous restricted items, including large pieces of furniture, building material, automobile parts and a derelict van.
City offers free service
| How to help | |
| • | Rep. Joe Gomes has set up a community meeting to address the abandoned-cars issue. The meeting will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the Waimanalo public library. |
| • | To report dump sites, volunteer for clean-ups or get information, call the city at 527-5091, 527-5335 or 527-5699. |
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"They don't have to skulk around and drop things off in a canal in the middle of night," she said. "We'll come get that refrigerator and take it away."
Last year, the city towed 835 derelict vehicles in Windward O'ahu, including Kailua, Kane'ohe and Waimanalo, Costa said. The city also collected 1,965 automobiles in Honolulu, 1,339 in Leeward, and 307 in Central.
The city is working with police and has asked citizens to look out for dumpers, take their license numbers and photograph the illegal activities.
One problem with the law is police must see a violation to be able to issue a citation, she said. Police are stretched thin and tend to focus their energy on public safety.
"They have to be able to witness something like that and those people are acting in the dead of night," Costa said.
Dennis Kamimura, licensing administrator for the city Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing, said police cite abandoned vehicles if there is a serial number or some kind of identification, such as license plates. The citation is sent to the last registered owner. If the owner hasn't sent in a notice of transfer, indicating they've sold the automobile and who it was sold to, they will have to appear in court and most likely pay a fine, Kamimura said.
"That is why it is so important to submit your notice of transfer so the citation goes to that person, not you," he said. "It's the only way you can relieve yourself of any civil or criminal liability."
Costa said the Waimanalo Convenience Center is adequate for the community, and the city can't expand it to include toxic material. If people would take the time to educate themselves about the city's waste disposal programs, Waimanalo's burden would be eased, she said. The city has spent thousands on education and there are telephone numbers to call for more information.
Harsher fines urged
Waimanalo state representatives Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Kailua-Waimanalo), and Rep. Joe Gomes, R-51st (Waimanalo-Keolu Hills-Lanikai-Enchanted Lake-Kailua), said harsher fines, swift enforcement and community involvement will help solve the problem.
Hemmings said he would like to put more teeth into the laws so penalties are "harsh, strict and swift," including increasing the fines for littering, he said. Fines now are up to $500 and 40 hours of community service.
"I suspect that much of the litter is brought by outside neighborhoods, by commercial people who don't want to pay to dump (at the city landfill)," Hemmings said. "If the penalty is severe, it will be worth it."
The cost of taking trash to the Wai'anae Coast's Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill is $72.25 per ton, but taxes and other charges bring the total to $82 per ton.
Gomes said catching the culprits should be a priority. A community effort is under way to solve the problem, he said.
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
