Rubbish illegally dumped at Waipahu stream removed

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Staff Writer

City road maintenance crews yesterday collected four truckloads of rubbish from a neighborhood and stream off Waipahu Depot Road where medical waste was found Monday that led to the injury of a 12-year-old boy, city spokeswoman Carol Costa said.

Costa said crews do twice-a-month cleanups of the city-owned stream where a used medical device was found by Waipahu children and a nerve agent was accidentally injected into the boy's hand. He was examined at a local hospital Monday and released.

"Unfortunately people are just going in this area illegally and dumping their trash in somebody else's back yard and it's a shame," Costa said.

She suggested that a Waipahu citizens watchdog group might be of great value to curb the trash-dumping problems between the regular city cleanups.

"Kapa'a Quarry Road in Kailua now has a monitoring group that takes license plate numbers and watches and tries to stem the problem," Costa said. "Obviously this is another location where community vigilance could really help."

Costa added that anyone noticing trash being dumped illegally not confront the person, but instead note a license number and call her office at 523-4381.

Costa suggested that the problem in this neighborhood off Waipahu Depot Road may be linked to trash dumped in Pearl Harbor floating downstream or the proximity of the Waipahu Convenience Center half a block away. The center accepts all bulky trash except tires and operates from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"Maybe it's people coming to use the convenience center when it's closed," she said. "It's a very desolate area at night."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.