City to Toughen Penalties for Illegal Bulky Items

(Monday, November 23, 2009) – Mayor Mufi Hannemann today announced that the City and County of Honolulu is planning to toughen its policing of residents who are placing their bulky-item refuse curbside well before scheduled collection dates.

      “When I took office in 2005, bulky item collection was one of the first issues I tackled,” Mayor Hannemann said.  “By July 2006, all areas of Oahu were on a regular monthly collection schedule.  Despite our best efforts to make bulky item collection regular and convenient, we’re still experiencing non-compliance and illegal dumping by thoughtless people who think nothing of putting their trash on the sidewalks well before the collection dates.  The curbside accumulation of bulky item waste has become one of the most frequent complaints we receive from the public.  We’re proposing to put some teeth into our laws to help us keep our sidewalks clear and our island beautiful.”

      The administration will submit proposed legislation to the City Council to amend Chapter 9 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu.  The amendment would authorize the Department of Environmental Services (ENV) to cite violators through its newly-hired inspectors and impose civil fines of up to $500 per day.  Presently, enforcement is being done by the Department of Planning and Permitting and Honolulu Police Department.

      Said Hannemann, “We believe having our Environmental Services inspectors, who are on the streets six days a week, monitor this situation would be the most effective means of curbing this practice.  I’m asking for the public’s cooperation to help keep our island clean and safe so that we don’t have to impose these penalties.”

      Public education letters were mailed last month to Associations of Apartment Owners (AOAO) to remind them that properties are required to have a storage area to keep refuse and bulky items between scheduled pick up days.  They were encouraged to educate their tenants about the rules and bulky waste schedule in their areas.

      ENV will also be placing handouts and bulky item posters in all Satellite City Halls.

      A 2009-2010 bulky waste collection calendar for single family residential areas and multi-family complexes is available at www.opala.org.

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Contact:  Markus Owens, ENV Public Communications Officer, 768-3454