HILO, Hawai'i — A company that's delinquent on its landfill tipping fees is one of four companies that recently won trash-hauling contracts with Hawai'i County.

In all, commercial waste haulers owe the county $2.8 million in tipping fees at the landfills, with $1.4 million of that more than 90 days past due, said Robin Bauman, business manager for the Environmental Management Department.

The county recently awarded one-year contracts to four haulers: Business Services Hawaii, Hawaiian Roll-Off Services, Pacific Waste and Ryan's Rubbish & Roll-Off Service. The contracts generally are less than $25,000 annually.

However, Hilo-based Ryan's Rubbish was awarded a contract even though the company is not in good standing. It owes the county $91,787, of which $75,050 is more than 90 days past due.

Commercial waste-hauling bid specifications do not require the hauler be in good standing with the county or up-to-date on its tipping fees, Bauman said.

"I don't think the procurement rules would allow us to disqualify a bidder per se because of that," Bauman said. "I don't think we can prevent them from bidding."

The county does have ways to collect, however, including deducting delinquent tipping fees from payments owed the haulers. Companies that owe the county money may be better off working off some of that debt than being denied the chance to compete, she said.

Business Services Hawaii and Pacific Waste, both of which have offices in Hilo and Kona, and West Hawai'i firm Hawaiian Roll-Off Services were also past due thousands of dollars last year, but all have since caught up and are in good standing, Bauman said.

Haulers' financial problems are due in large part to the domino effect of failing construction companies, said Ryan's Rubbish President Olivia Kekipi. She said of nine construction contractors that owe the hauler money, all but two have filed bankruptcy, making it even harder to collect.

"When their checks bounced, we couldn't pay. It's been an ongoing thing; we've been trying to collect," Kekipi said. "We've been trying to get caught up, but when the contractors fail, we've ended up being stuck with the bill."

In addition to garnishing contract payments, the county can, and has, set up payment plans and sent some seriously past due haulers to Corporation Counsel for collection action, Bauman said.

The county is making progress. The past-due amount has been whittled to $2.8 million from about $3.5 million in December.

Environmental Management Director Lono Tyson said earlier this year that he's asked staff to come up with ideas to address the arrears problems.

"There's no doubt this needs to be addressed," Tyson said. "We've been making dramatic cuts in our budget and this is obviously a revenue source for us."