Question: Could you let your readers know about a little-known quirk of the city’s bulk pickup service? I was helping clean out my aunt’s house and had some 20-plus bags of trash, which we put out the day before the scheduled bulk pickup. The city did not pick it up, and after a few days I contacted them and they replied that they do not pick up anything that will fit in your gray bin. Since trash bags fit in the gray bin they will not pick them up, even though we had so many. I asked why there is no such rule shown on opala.org and got no reply.

Answer: This rule is posted on the city Department of Environmental Services’ website, although not where you naturally looked. We’ll cover that in a minute. First, let’s recap the basics of bulky pickup.

As DES spokesman Markus Owens explained, bulky waste refers to oversized items that individually won’t fit into the gray refuse cart, not to excessive volumes of bagged trash. Residents with more bagged trash than will fit in their gray bin should place as many bags as will fit into the bin and take the extra bags to any of the city’s nine convenience centers and transfer stations. The limit is two vehicle loads per day, Owens said. For trash that meets the bulky pickup requirements, such as old furniture, residents must place the items at their property curb within an assigned time period once a month.

Opala.org is a helpful website with extensive information about waste disposal and recycling on Oahu, including curbside pickup schedules. You looked at the homepage, and gravitated to No. 6 in the frequently asked questions: “Why did the bulky collection crew pick up some of my items and leave others behind?”

The answer there: “Some items go to the landfill while others are recycled. Different trucks collect different types of materials. The “white goods” flatbed truck will pick up appliances and metal items separately so they can be delivered to the metal recycling facility. Refrigerant must be removed from refrigerators and air conditioners before the metal is recycled. Other types of items, including old furniture, carpet and mattresses, are taken to the landfill in a rear-loading packer truck. If you think any of these items are reusable, check the list of reuse organizations before you place them at the curb for disposal.”

So you’re correct that there’s no mention of overflowing amounts of regular rubbish, and other readers also have pointed this out. But the issue is addressed elsewhere on the website. We found at least three references, including in sections devoted to bulky pickup rules, enforcement and a separate FAQ focused on bulky pickup. Here’s one example, from 808ne.ws/ 1nz4H4m :

“What will not be collected as bulky items? Construction materials, demolition debris, dirt, rock, concrete, large automobile parts and any refuse suitable for regular refuse collection.”

Q: Where can the general public access Hawaii’s public-worker contracts? Is there a website where they can be read online? I want to read the actual collective bargaining agreement, not someone else’s description of what it says.

A: An excellent place to start is the state Department of Human Resources Development, which lists the labor unions representing state or county government employees in Hawaii. Check 808ne.ws/205SPb2 for a description of each bargaining unit and the employee classifications represented, plus, in most cases, links to the full collective bargaining agreements for specific units, including of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, the United Public Workers and the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly.

Some of the links appear outdated, and in a few cases — notably the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA) and the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers (SHOPO) — take users to the union’s websites, rather than to a contract.

Still, this site should get you started on your basic research.

Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.