Posted on: Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Illegal dumping angers Palolo
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
For years, the intersection of Lai Road and Palolo Avenue has been an unofficial city dump.
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser Residents say the area used to be designated as an official city bulky item drop-off point.
It isn't any longer, yet people continue to drop off garbage, creating a smelly, ugly eyesore that is a breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes.
Compounding the problem, the city's bulky item pickup crews are behind schedule. Crews ply the streets monthly, collecting items the automated trucks cannot pick up.
Palolo residents want something done about the situation.
"It's just terrible," said resident Sharon Young. "It's an ongoing, repetitive problem. I would like to see twice-a-month pickups. There is enough trash in this valley that would warrant it."
City spokeswoman Carol Costa said there is too much garbage left on the streets in Palolo and not enough city employees willing to work the overtime needed to keep up, so private contractor TR Systems has been hired to collect the garbage.
• Bulky item pickup in Palolo is the third Wednesday of the month. Items are to be left curbside in front of homes no earlier than Tuesday morning and can be picked up through Friday. • To verify garbage pickup days or to report concerns about bulky items or trash, call the city's refuse yard at 523-4686 or customer service department at 523-4381 (information) or 523-4834 (complaint). Illegal dumping • To report illegal dumping that could result in a reward, call the state attorney general's office, investigations division, at 586-1240, or 911, especially for Neighbor Islands. • To report an illegal dump that needs cleanup or for information about proper disposal in Honolulu, call the city's environmental hot line at 692-5656.
Piles of bulky items lined both sides of 10th Avenue yesterday, and as Young looked over the trash on her block, a truck from TR Systems pulled up. However, the truck was already full and left without touching the pile.
Young can see the site from her home and said the dumpers are not just valley residents but commercial vehicles.
"Somebody came around with a truckload full of tires," she said. "I try and catch them because they can be fined, but they are so fast. I hear when people pull up and I try and catch their license plates. Some people cover their plates so you can't read them."
In June, Gov. Linda Lingle signed a law making the illegal dumping of large amounts of garbage a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The law prohibits the dumping of 10 cubic yards or more of solid waste. The dumping is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $50,000 for each offense. A person could be charged with a felony if the cleanup of the waste costs more than $1,500.
Anyone reporting such illegal activity is eligible for 50 percent of the fines collected from those convicted of the crime.
Young said if she can turn people in, she will.
"We say Palolo pride, but this hurts us all," Young said. "People don't want to come into the community once they see this."
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
Every day people illegally discard old mattresses, refrigerators, used tires and dead car batteries by the side of the road and on the sidewalk, making both dangerous to use.
Ronald Staszkow and Sharon Young survey the trash illegally dumped near their Palolo homes. Because the city's bulky item pick-up crews are so far behind schedule, the city has hired a private contractor to start cleaning up the mess.
"At the end of the month there were no staff willing to take the overtime needed to finish up the number of households that needed to be picked up," Costa said yesterday. "So we contracted with a private hauler, who worked Saturday, Sunday and is out there right now to finish up what needs to be done."
Bulky item pickup
