Question: Regarding bulky pickup, I always hear “place items curbside” but what if our trash is picked up out back?
Answer: “For single-family homes that are rear-loaded lots and receive refuse collection services in back alleyways, please place your bulky items in the same location that your cart is serviced. Items that are placed in the front of the property where your cart is not serviced could lead to non-collection,” Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services says in its detailed instructions for bulky pickup on Oahu.
By contrast, single-family homes with regular curbside collection service place bulky items on the curb fronting their property, without blocking sidewalks, driveways, drain inlets or roadways.
For more information, go to honolulu.gov/env and click on “make a bulky appointment.”
Q: I’m surprised the city is going islandwide with putting food scraps loose in the green bin. It didn’t work for us. There was a stench, even with the lid closed.
A: As of Oct. 1, all Oahu households on the city’s three-cart collection routes are encouraged to place food waste loose in their green compost cart, as the Department of Environmental Services expands its G.R.O.W. (Green Recycling Organic Waste) program, which began as a pilot project April 1 in six neighborhoods. Kokua Line heard from quite a few folks during the pilot who said they tried to participate but quit because the loose food waste reeked and attracted flies and other vermin. The waste cannot be bagged because the city’s composting facility cannot process bags, even the type labeled as compostable or biodegradable.
In expanding the program islandwide, ENV officials said they were encouraged by the pilot project’s 15% participation rate and the fact that fewer bags were placed in the green carts as the pilot progressed. Their tips for reducing mess and odors include: storing food waste in the freezer until dumping it out of a container into the green cart the night before pickup; making sure there is green waste in the container and burying the food waste in the green waste; sprinkling baking soda or coffee grounds in the cart; and keeping the lid closed except to fill the cart.
Q: My Hawaii license has the star but it is expired. It is the only picture ID I have. I have an unexpected, unavoidable flight. I don’t have time to renew. What can I do?
A: The Transportation Security Administration says it accepts federally compliant identification up to two years past expiration, so your Hawaii-issued REAL ID should suffice at the airport security checkpoint if it expired within that time frame. Be prepared for a supervisor to manually verify your card if it does not scan properly in the TSA scanner. A temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of ID for the TSA’s purposes, so renewing at this point wouldn’t help you board your flight — at renewal in Hawaii, the DMV issues a temporary paper license and retains the applicant’s old plastic card.
Auwe
On Monday at around 4:30 p.m., I was standing on the sidewalk at the mauka, Ewa corner of the intersection of King Street and Richard Street, waiting for the light to change so I could cross King Street. I heard a loud bang as a green coconut hit the ground, falling from the tree above. It hit the ground with so much force, if it had fallen on my head it would have caused a skull fracture. It was frightening. I kept it as evidence. It’s green, not full size, but big enough to have caused injury. It’s about one pound and around 7 inches in length. The responsible party needs to do something about the coconuts in that tree. Someone else might not be as lucky. — Emily
Mahalo
Thank you to the customer who noticed I had put a $20 bill on the counter at Liliha Bakery and didn’t notice when it fluttered to the floor. He picked it up and handed it to me. I was searching in my wallet for change and had my hands full and my mind distracted. — A reader
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Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
