Mayor Mufi Hannemann yesterday said he has no intention of dumping the firm that operates the city's Waimanalo Gulch landfill, despite criticism over a malfunctioning load-weighing scale and other problems.

Waste Management Inc. appears to be doing its best to improve operations at the controversial landfill and address problems as quickly as possible, Hannemann said.

He conceded that operations "aren't perfect," but said recent calls to fire the company and consider reassigning city employees who oversee the site are "irresponsible" and show "a lack of experience being a leader."

"You don't fire people, especially if you cannot prove they are directly responsible for the wrongdoing," Hannemann said.

At a news conference Tuesday, City Councilman Charles Djou blasted Waste Management for a litany of problems over the past few years, and called for the city to terminate its contract with the company.

Djou said the malfunctioning scale — which may have caused the city to lose revenue from trash haulers before it was repaired and recalibrated Tuesday night — was "the straw that broke the camel's back" after several other high-profile problems.

Among the most serious is an outstanding $2.8 million state fine issued last year for numerous health and environmental violations at the landfill.

But Hannemann said landfill manager Paul Burns, who has run the site for about two years, "has done a terrific job, despite all the problems he's been having, and he's trying to do the right thing."

Wai'anae Coast Neighborhood Board chairwoman Patty Teruya said Hannemann and the landfill's operators have been much more responsive to community concerns than others were in the past.

"This administration has been on them, and we have seen improvements in our area," she said.

Hannemann is seeking a 20-month extension of the landfill's state operating permit, which expires in May 2008. The city plans to later seek permission to expand the site and operate it for at least 15 more years.

"I would like nothing better than to shut down the landfill, but we just can't do it," Hannemann said. "I wish I could take a magic wand and make all the problems disappear, but I just can't."

To help compensate the surrounding community for hosting the landfill, he sponsored a $2 million "community benefits package" to pay for park improvements and other work in nearby neighborhoods last year. This year, he won City Council approval of a $2.5 million package.

Some critics have suggested that the money merely pays for work the city should be performing regardless of the landfill. But Hannemann said the packages are legitimate efforts to provide extra help.

Teruya said she wishes the landfill could be closed, but that opening a new one in sites that were considered before — in Ma'ili or Nanakuli — would be worse.

"There's no way our community would accept that," she said.

As for the benefit packages, Teruya said that "if funding comes to our community, we are going to take it and make use of it."

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.