Old, unused license plates can be turned in, destroyed

Question: In cleaning out my garage, I found several sets of license plates that date back at least 20 years. Do I need to return them to the city, can I throw them away or can I sell them at the swap meet?

Answer: You should turn them in to the city to be destroyed, no matter how old the plates are, said Sheri Kajiwara, director, city Department of Customer Services.

The fear is that the old plates could be fraudulently used.

Common three-letter/three-number series license plates not affixed to a registered motor vehicle should be surrendered to the Division of Motor Vehicles or destroyed by the registered owner when the plate is no longer registered to a vehicle, Kajiwara said.

Older plate designs that should have been destroyed at the time, but were not, may still be turned in to any satellite city hall for proper disposal, she said.

Old plates are destroyed by a city contractor, and the metal is recycled.

"There is no charge to the public, and we encourage residents to do this,"Kajiwara said.

License plate holders also are allowed to destroy the license plates themselves but must be sure to cut up the plates so that they are unusable.

"There have been situations in the past where the license plate was simply placed in the trash receptacle without being cut up and was scavenged by a perpetrator who placed it on a vehicle used in a crime,"Kajiwara said. "The vehicle’s registered owner was shocked by an unannounced visit from law enforcement."

If a license plate is found to be used fraudulently, the owner of the plate may be investigated and end up being slapped with a fine.

Kajiwara pointed to Section 249-7 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes as addressing the transfer of current license plates, tags or emblems, with a maximum $50 fine per offense, and Section 249-11 addressing fraudulent use of the plates, punishable by a maximum $500 fine.

Question: Will anyone be selling the soon-to-be banned plastic checkout bags at a reasonable price for those of us who continue to need them at home for other purposes, like lining wastebaskets and preparing offerings for the high-rise trash chute?

Answer: The law does not prohibit businesses from selling the bags after the ban takes effect July 1, so it would be up to each business to make that decision.

"The law prohibits retailers from providing these bags to customers as checkout bags," said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services. "Bags sold in packages containing multiple bags intended for use as garbage, pet waste or yard waste bags are exempted from the ban."

Owens said the department is not aware of any business planning or proposing to sell unused plastic checkout bags.

"Businesses have been planning for the transition since 2012, and we already see that many have made the shift to the new type of acceptable bags ahead of the July 1 effective date," he said.

Mahalo

Recently we encountered strong wind on the Windward side, in particular, Kaneohe. My neighbor’s metal roofing was waving violently in the wind, so I called 911 and firefighters came within 15 minutes from Kalihi because the Kaneohe and Kailua fire stations were very busy. The firefighters secured my neighbor’s roof in 10 minutes. I would like to thank them for their prompt and efficient work braving the strong wind and rain. — A Grateful Senior

Auwe

To people who walk their dogs but don’t pick up their poop where kids play at Kamiloiki and Kalama Valley parks. We had an incident recently where one of the girls playing soccer at Kamiloiki Neighborhood Park stepped on dog poop. It could have been worse. At all these parks we go to, dog owners just leave the poop, which is not respectful to the children or anyone walking. — Kay

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