By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser City Hall Writer

Q: My big gray city garbage can was full and I had two extra bags of trash that I wanted the rubbish truck driver to take but he said he couldn't. Why not?

A: As your mother might have said to you, "Did you ask nicely?" In Honolulu, city refuse drivers on automated routes are required to empty one 96-gallon container from every home on their route on each collection day. Any trash that cannot fit into the can should be held for the next pickup day, city officials say. They also suggest you use this contingency as a good excuse to get to know your neighbors so you can add something to their containers when you need to.

Here's the rest of the city's official take on why you can't demand that the driver double-dump your can: Routes are established to cover the number of homes that can be served on a collection schedule. If a driver picked up extras and took longer at his stops, he might not be able to finish the route. If you continually run over, you may want to request a second can.

The unofficial scoop? If you ask the refuse workers nicely, they have been known to dump the cans a second or third time. But according to city rules, they don't have to. And a little something curbside at Christmas never hurts.

Q: How is it that the people down the street from us can have four or five cars parked on their lawn at all times, including some that don't seem to work? Is it legal to run a mini-junkyard out of your house?

A: If the vehicles are owned by the residents of the property, zoning ordinances do allow them to park on the property. And people are allowed to do repairs, even major repairs, to their personal vehicles.

If it looks like the neighbors are running a repair shop, on O'ahu you can call a housing inspector at 527-6308 to check the property. You need to leave your name and phone number. You can also call the Mayor's Complaint Office at 523-4381. You can request a callback and your call will remain confidential.

Do you ever get frustrated or confused trying to navigate the various layers of government? Are you looking for an answer to a simple question but can't figure out where to start? If you have a question or a problem and need help getting to the right person, you can reach The Bureaucracy Buster one of three ways:

• Write to:
The Bureaucracy Buster
The Honolulu Advertiser
605 Kapi'olani Boulevard, Honolulu, HI 96813.

• e-mail:
buster@honoluluadvertiser.com

• Phone:
535-2454 and leave a message.

Be sure to give us your name and daytime telephone number in case we need more information.