Posted on: Saturday, July 2, 2005

Trash-bin search law clarified

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Before folks go digging through their neighbors' rubbish bins for bottles and cans to recycle, Honolulu Police Capt. Frank Fujii wants to update them on a little-known city ordinance that prohibits taking something out of a curbside bin.

That corrects advice Fujii gave this week in response to Bureaucracy Buster questions about people digging through bins to take out the bottles and cans. He apologizes for giving out misinformation that it was legal to remove containers from the bins.

This week, Fujii offered various tips for what's legal and what's not now that the new state law gives a nickel value to each beverage container. That law gave people an incentive to pick through trash for cash.

Fujii said he checked with Honolulu prosecutors and the civil attorneys in the Corporation Counsel's office before suggesting garbage on a public street was "abandoned."

Since then, he's been told of the ban on "disturbing receptacles."

That says "no person shall remove or disturb any refuse from the place where the same has been placed for collection," he said.

Fujii, who has been with the department since 1975, admits that most people don't know about the law. "Once in a great while, police officers actually do cite people for this," he said.

He said anyone with questions about the city ordinance should call him 529-3550.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 535-2429.