Q. I like to do the right thing and recycle. However, sometimes when I get to the recycle bins at the schools, they are full. What do you do then? Do you just leave your items on the ground next to the bin? This happens to me frequently.

A. City officials ask that when this happens, you hang on to your items to be recycled and call to let them know that the bins are full so that they can be emptied. Please do not place the items next to the bin where they might be disturbed or get scattered, officials said. To report any problem with the recycling bins, call the environmental concern line at 692-5656. On the Web, check www.opala.org.

Q. There are traffic lights installed at the intersection of Meheula Parkway and Ko'olani Drive in Mililani Mauka. They have been there since around October, but to this day are still not active. There are warning lights in place to notify drivers of a yellow or red light ahead and signs informing drivers that left turns are allowed only when the arrow is green. Do you know when these lights will be activated?

A. Alfred Tanaka, of the city Department of Transportation Services, said the lights were activated on Jan. 17 or 18.

Q. What happened with those little plastic dividers on Moanalua Road in the 'ewa-bound direction leading onto the Pearl City on-ramp?

A. They were installed in the fall by maintenance crews and then someone knocked them over again, state Transportation Department spokesman Scott Ishikawa said. "It appeared to be someone doing it purposely to enter or exit the lane," he said. Crews repaired them again, and they remain standing as of this week, he said.

TRASH CAN FOLLOW-UP

This is our experience with a broken trash can. Twice, our can has been dropped and one of the wheels has been broken off. Each time I called the local number and within a few hours someone came out and fixed the wheels. Good as new. It gives me new faith in city government.

— A La'ie resident

The Environmental Services Department's Refuse Division numbers are at the front of the phone book in the city government pages.

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 Blvd.
Honolulu, HI 96813

E-mail: buster@honoluluadvertiser.com

Phone: 535-2454 and leave a message about your issue. Be sure to give us your name and daytime telephone number in case we need more information. Not every call will be returned because of the number of inquiries.

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.