Property owners will be fined $500 a day for bulky trash left in front of their homes ahead of the scheduled pickup day, under a bill introduced by Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

Since July 2006, bulky items have been picked up from residential curbsides on O'ahu once a month, but the trash can only be placed on the sidewalk the evening before a scheduled pickup.

"There's been tremendous abuse of this pickup," Hannemann said. "In too many areas on O'ahu ... people are not waiting, and are not paying attention to the day of the month that their bulky item pickup is going to be done by the city."

Hannemann said the Department of Environmental Services received at least 650 complaints about bulky trash last year. Not only is bulky trash left on the curbside unsightly, it can often pose a hazard or become a health threat, the mayor said.

To improve compliance with the law, Hannemann is proposing that three new city inspectors watch for bulky items put on the curb far in advance of pickup days and cite the property owners closest to the trash. If the trash is not removed within seven days of the citation, the owners could be fined $500 per day.

The bill must get approved by the Council.

Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz, chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, said he endorses the concept of the plan. "As long as you have notice, and give the property owner time to deal with the situation," he said.

Hannemann and Environmental Services Director Tim Steinberger acknowledged that sometimes a property owner will argue that they weren't responsible for the bulky trash ending up on the sidewalk. But that's beside the point, they said.

"This is your own kuleana in front," Hannemann said. "You've got to be your own eyes and ears too."

He added: "Post additional security watches if you must. ... If it's in front of you, it's happening, we're going to come at you."

Jane Sugimura, president of the Hawaii Council of Associations of Apartment Owners, said the bill unfairly puts the burden on property owners to keep others from dumping trash in front of their property.

"When somebody puts something there, next thing you know, there's a whole stack of all this junk," Sugimura said.

Sugimura said condominium and apartment owners recognize the problems associated with bulky trash that is left on the sidewalk too long. "It's an eyesore and it's really quite awful," she said.

But enforcement is difficult, Sugimura said. At her own condo in the Pearlridge area, even with night security told specifically to be on the lookout and cite violators, "nobody ever sees anybody."

Sugimura's association represents about 110 condos islandwide.

Hannemann is proposing the responsibility for enforcing illegal bulky item dumping be transferred from the Honolulu Police Department to the city Department of Environmental Services, where the three newly hired inspectors would work.

In addition to the potential $500 a day fine, property owners or condominium associations would also be charged the cost of having the bulky trash hauled away.

The Environmental Services Department has already begun an educational program with condominium associations "asking them to set up storage areas within these apartment units" to help with those who may be moving, Hannemann said.

Hannemann unveiled the new bill at a press conference fronting a Salt Lake condominium complex. The sidewalk was littered with an easy chair, a toilet, a computer monitor and other bulky trash. The monthly pickup for bulky trash in Salt Lake is the first Monday of the month — two weeks away.

"Everyone really has to pay attention a lot more to the schedule," Hannemann said. Schedules for bulky item pickups on O'ahu can be found at www.opala.org.

Bulky trash piling is largely an issue found in neighborhoods with heavy concentrations of apartments and condominiums, but the new law would also apply to single-family homeowners.

If the city finds a need for more than three inspectors, the administration will request additional personnel, the mayor said.