White Seeks Restoration of Holiday Trash Collection

Mike White. File image by Wendy Osher.

By Wendy Osher

Landfill hours and holiday trash pick-up schedules will be the focus of discussion at the upcoming meeting of the Maui County Council’s Budget and Finance Committee at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the Council Chamber in Wailuku.

In July, the County of Maui Environmental Management division announced plans to reduce solid waste services in the new fiscal year citing budget constraints.

The reduced services went into effect on Aug. 1, and include shorter landfill hours and the elimination of trash pick-up on holidays.

At the time, Maui Mayor Arakawa’s explained the plan saying provisions in the budget place restrictions on expenditures within the Solid Waste Operations program “that may impede the department from addressing issues with the landfills that could result in the issuance of violations from the state Department of Health or other regulatory bodies.”

Last week, the Mayor also offered clarification on the holiday schedule in his Ask The Mayor column in an effort to address a question over missed trash and green waste schedules.

Committee Chair Mike White called the services “vital” to the public, and said that the council approved 99% of the Solid Waste Division’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget proposal, and increased its budget over FY 2014.

“The funds to maintain trash service are there, and it is time to prioritize core services to the public,” he said in a press release announcing the planned committee discussion.  I am making it a priority for Tuesday’s meeting to reach out to the administration and have a meaningful discussion on landfill hours and trash pick-up on holidays,” he said.

“I look forward to an explanation of why these services were cut, and to finding solutions to these operational challenges,” he said.

Other items before the committee include the acquisition of land for a county service center and funding for Kalakupua Playground in Haʻikū.