Trash truck fleet recovering from heavy bout of repairs

Oahu residents from Halawa to Kapolei can expect curbside pickup of their green waste and recyclables to resume this week following a three-week period in which a large number of refuse trucks were out of service, a city spokesman said.

At one point the fleet from the Pearl City base yard was operating at about half strength — eight to 10 trucks — because an unusual number were sidelined for maintenance, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.

A half-dozen trucks have returned to service, bringing the number of trucks to 15 to 16 servicing the 18 to 20 daily routes in the region that includes Halawa, Pearl City, Waipahu, Waipio Gentry, Royal Kunia, Makakilo and Kapolei.

"We feel that we’re getting a handle on it, and we’re getting some of the trucks back into play," Owens said Thursday.

The city has 31 side-loader trucks assigned to the area, but Owens said ideally about one truck is in service for each route while the others are in various stages of repair.

The Pearl City-based trucks weren’t all plagued by the same issue. Some were out for routine maintenance such as oil changes and safety checks, while others had more serious troubles like broken parts and bum transmissions.

"This is kind of a rare thing where you have so many trucks going down at once, and it all depends on the extent of the breakdown," Owens said.

Roger Clemente, a member of the Pearl City Neighborhood Board, said he and his neighbors were not too concerned about the tardiness of their recyclables pickup.

"It hasn’t really affected me in a negative way," Clemente said. "None of the people in our neighborhood seemed to be concerned about it."

Owens said refuse collectors worked double shifts to make sure the gray household trash bins — the Refuse Division’s main priority — were picked up on time or as close to on time as possible.

"They’ve had to work extremely hard just to stay up on the gray (bins) and do as much green and blue as they could," Owens said.

The county will receive 20 new trucks by February as part of a regular cycle of equipment replacement. Owens said many of the new rigs will be assigned to Pearl City because it has one of the county’s oldest refuse fleets.

Owens said residents can call 768-3401 or visit www.opala.org for announcements regarding missed collections.