Another hearing, another extension, another postponement of the decision about where to put O'ahu's garbage.

Enough already. It's long past time for the City Council to take the politically unpopular but necessary step to find an alternative to the Waimanalo Gulch landfill, which has been a burden to Leeward Coast residents long enough.

Last week, the state Land Use Commission issued its latest — and hopefully last — extension to using Waimanalo Gulch. The board gave the city until July 31, 2012. After that date, the landfill can only be used to dump ash and residue from the garbage-burning H-Power plant.

It's anticipated that the city's aggressive waste disposal plans — expanded curbside recycling, a third boiler at H-Power and a contract to ship garbage to the Mainland — will reduce O'ahu's garbage output significantly enough to make a large-scale landfill unnecessary.

That's a laudable goal, but we're not there yet. And it's unlikely those plans will eliminate the need for a landfill entirely. Not everything can be burned by H-Power, and hiring private contractors to haul garbage away can't be depended on as a permanent, financially stable solution.

The city administration has lobbied to expand Waimanalo Gulch, saying it's the most sensible and cost-effective answer. That may make sense in the short term. Certainly, the process of finding a site for a new landfill, with environmental impact statements and other legal hurdles, is neither easy nor cheap.

But if longstanding promises to the community are to be kept, and the LUC's orders followed, then the status quo is not an option. Another site must be found, and it's up to the council, working with the administration, to start looking, immediately.

Let's hope that effort yields better results this time around. It's time to move forward.