Posted on: Saturday, January 15, 2005

Wai'anae bulk trash service to be upgraded

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

City workers will soon begin picking up discarded sofas, refrigerators and other bulky items from Wai'anae Coast homes on a regular monthly schedule, giving them the same service as urban Honolulu homes, Mayor Mufi Hannemann said yesterday.

Residents of most outlying neighborhoods must currently call to request that large items be picked up, and it often takes weeks before a truck and crew arrive to collect them.

Passers-by often illegally add more trash to the junk left sitting along curbs. Other residents get tired of waiting, and illegally dump along backroads, beaches and canals.

Hannemann said regular monthly pickup service will begin in March from Honokai Hale to Makua, and that he hopes to expand the service islandwide later.

"This will go a long way toward curbing illegal dumping," Hannemann said.

Wai'anae resident Cynthia Rezentes said she was delighted by the coming change.

"I think it's an excellent idea," she said. "I have had experiences where I've called in and it sometimes takes anywhere from four to six weeks before your bulky items were scheduled in the past."

She agreed that the change would help stop people from improperly adding to rubbish piles.

"No matter what community you're in, I think if there's a regularly scheduled thing, you can put your stuff out and know it's going to be gone, and not have it get worse," Rezentes said.

Environmental watchdog Carroll Cox said he believes the change would help deter people from dumping toxins, such as paint and oil, along roadsides where bulky items are awaiting pickup.

"This move is a very smart one, and it's one that's welcome," said Cox, president of Envirowatch Inc.

Children often like to jump on discarded items such as sofas and mattresses without knowing that dangerous substances have sometimes been dumped on or around them, Cox said. And others can't seem to resist shattering the screens of discarded TVs, not knowing that it can release harmful substances, he said.

Exact routes and work schedules for the new pickup service haven't been worked out yet, but the city and United Public Workers union have agreed on the general plan, Hannemann said.

UPW state director Dayton Nakanelua said the union made sure no jobs would be lost under the plan. The change will transfer collection duties for Wai'anae from the Facility Maintenance Department to the Environmental Services Department, which handles most city trash collection.

Working together

Hannemann said the Wai'anae phase of the expansion will not require more city spending, but that additional phases will have to be incorporated into next year's budget. The exact cost isn't clear yet, he said.

Hannemann said he was committed to working in cooperation with the union, rather than trying to impose decisions in a top-down way.

"The difference here with this administration is that we're going to bring them in on the front end of any responsibility that will impact their union," he said. "... Far too often with the previous administration, an announcement would be made and then they would be the last people to be told about it."

He said he also hopes to soon strike a deal with the union to revive an islandwide household recycling collection program that stalled under former Mayor Jeremy Harris, who pushed to contract with private companies for the service.

"In a perfect world, we'd love to have said today that we're doing both on March 1, but I'm willing to settle right now for half a malassada rather than a whole one," Hannemann said.

Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.