Question: I have to move before my bulky pickup appointment. My bad; I procrastinated getting the date. Can I leave the junk out a few days early?
Answer: No. It is illegal to place bulky items at the curb sooner than 6 p.m. the evening before your scheduled collection date; violations can result in fines, according to Honolulu County’s Department of Environmental Services. You could dispose of the junk yourself, at one of Honolulu County’s free drop-off facilities. Or, if you have a friendly neighbor, you could ask them to make an appointment for their own address and include your items.
Outside of Waikiki, single-family homes can schedule one appointment a month for a total of five bulky items, plus one appointment for up to two metal appliances, according to the department. Waikiki residents can schedule weekly bulky pickup. See details at 808ne.ws/bulk.
Q: My elderly dog needed IV fluid infusions daily until his death. How can I dispose of the used needles?
A: Residential customers on Oahu should encase medical sharps in a rigid, screw-top, puncture-resistant plastic container and then place the closed container in their household garbage, according to the Department of Environmental Services.
You can purchase a sharps container for this purpose or make your own, from a heavy-duty plastic container with a tight-fitting cap, such as an empty laundry detergent container.
This advice applies to residential customers, not to large sources of used needles, such as medical facilities, said Markus Owens, spokesman for Honolulu County’s ENV.
Q: Can I put my old telephone books into the blue bin? I was never clear on that.
A: No, ENV says to put them in the gray bin (general rubbish) for burning at Oahu’s HPOWER plant, which converts trash to energy. The blue bins on Oahu’s three-cart collection routes are meant for mixed recyclables. The covers and bindings of phone books are not recyclable, Owens said.
Q: Is it true that travelers returning to Hawaii must have gotten their booster shot 14 days before arriving to be considered fully vaccinated? If so, when does this new policy take effect? I’m going to L.A. in early February and need to know.
A: No, Hawaii’s Safe Travels program has not yet changed its definition of fully vaccinated to require a booster shot against COVID-19.
State officials are looking into it, but no change was announced as of deadline Thursday. Moreover, any such change would not take effect for at least two weeks after being announced, Gov. David Ige said Monday, to give people time to update their vaccination if necessary.
Arriving domestic airline passengers can avoid Hawaii’s five-day quarantine if they qualify for a vaccine exception through the Safe Travels program.
Q: My brother got a letter about the child tax credit received for his family, but I didn’t, even though my husband and I (married and living together) also received the advance credit for our kids. We all live adjacent to my parents on a multifamily property. Should I have gotten a letter?
A: Yes, according to the IRS, and it might still arrive.
The federal tax agency says it started mailing Letter 6419, 2021 advance Child Tax Credit, in late December and continues to do so this month. The letter contains information to help ensure your 2021 federal income tax return is accurate; you would receive the second half of the credit after you file your 2021 return. If you do not receive the letter, you should be able to check how much you’ve already received by using the “Child Tax Credit Update Portal” tool on irs.gov.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
