Editorial: Try, try again on trash pickups

The city continues to feel growing pains as Honolulu adjusts to a pilot program to make bulky-item trash pickup more effective and efficient through an online reservations system.

Nearing the halfway mark enroute to the January finish line for the test, there have been some encouraging steps made, especially in Waikiki where, a reality check affirms, special attention is warranted.

Still, much work remains to be done if this pilot is to prove a net improvement over what the city had, and if better waste management overall will be the result.

In recent weeks the city has updated the rules to allow Waikiki residents to book bulky pickup appointments weekly, instead of only once a month.

This was a sensible amendment. And, said Timothy Houghton, Department of Environmental Services deputy director, it’s not such a departure from past practice. Unlike other neighborhoods, Waikiki always had weekly bulky collections, due to the dense population — and the importance of keeping residential streets within the tourist district from becoming a rubbish pit.

The test program affects residents living between Foster Village and Hawaii Kai. It shifted them from the setup of monthly bulky pickups, according to a fixed calendar for each neighborhood, to an appointment system.

The problems with the old process range from city scheduling difficulties to residents ignoring instructions and leaving out their items well in advance, even illegally dumping them.

The idea of booking an appointment is to organize pickups to be more closely aligned with the time when the bulky disposables are set out. The challenge lies in persuading everyone to book their appointment rather than to simply pile their trash alongside scheduled items.

City crews are instructed to pick up only what’s scheduled, so the add-on items tend to hang around on the street longer. Mayor Kirk Caldwell has said performance has improved as communities get used to the system.

We’ll see in January. The proof will be whether that improvement remains fairly uniform across neighborhoods, or nonconformance persists.

Beyond the bulky-item launch, there are issues with regular trash collection, too. City officials say that Chinatown is one trouble spot, with loads of trash, much of it perishable.

This has always been a problem — which is why Chinatown, too, has a more frequent service — but it’s run up against the district’s homelessness problem. About 90 businesses pay extra to receive six weekly trash collections, but the homeless root through the bags left out at night, seeking food and reusable items, with trash strewn around the street as a result.

In response, the city has instructed the participating businesses to use special, extra-thick plastic trash bags to deter breakage. The determined scavenger, though, likely will find a way in.

It would be far more effective to have collections done at night, and avert all the mess of the raids. Environmental Services spokesman Markus Owens said it’s been discussed but added that the city is unlikely to make that change due to union contract issues. Besides, he said, many businesses close at different times through the night, so choosing a collection time to manage everything would be tough.

Still, roadwork and other government services do happen at night. It’s worth asking the unions and merchants whether they can accept this or find another solution.

Public sanitation is an imperative for Honolulu or any city, and keeping streets clean is how that’s achieved. The increased density of residential and business areas have made this more critical than ever.