More than 30 volunteers spent Saturday morning cleaning up trash strewn along Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway in Kailua-Kona.
Tina Cooper, founder of Trash Free Hawaii, organized the clean-up event between Hina Lani Street and Kaiminani Drive in response to the amount of litter on island roadways.
“The area was so badly littered that we hauled off five volunteer truck loads to the transfer station, as well as leaving an additional large pile that was picked up by the state DOT on Monday morning, including tires, about 30 bags of rubbish and shopping carts,” she said following the event.
Cooper said everyone worked really hard for several hours in the hot sun on Saturday, but more needs to be done.
“We still have a lot to do in that section of adopted highway from mile marker 94 to 96 on Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway,” she said.
Hawaii Police Department Officers Dwayne Sluss and Reuben Pukahi lent a hand at Saturday’s clean up.
“Community Policing supports the efforts of the community who are helping to clean up the highways,” said Sluss, who along with Pukahi, is a member of the Community Policing section in Kona.
“We would like to see more residents tie down their loads while taking their opala to the dump,” said Sluss. “It is the law.”
According to state law, it is illegal to drive or move a vehicle on any highway “with any load if the load is not entirely covered by a cargo net, tarpaulin, canopy, or other material designed to cover the load to prevent the load from escaping from the vehicle, where the load consists partially or entirely of loose paper, loose rubbish, plastics, empty cartons, dirt, sand, or gravel.”
A first violation could result in a fine between $250 and $500. A second violation within a year could result in suspension of the vehicle registration or suspension of the license of the driver, or both, for not less than five working days but not more than 10 working days; and a fine between $500 and $750.
A littering citation may also be issued.
“I’ve been pushing Mayor Roth to take action on the litter problem here on the island. Our county’s Litter Control Board was removed from the county budget. The laws for covered truck loads are not enforced. The problem of litter is not going to go away unless there is greater enforcement by the police department of Hawaii state laws, as well as enforcement of covered load laws at transfer stations,” Cooper said.
She said Roth is fully on board with trying to solve the issue and that he appreciated her bringing this to his attention.
“He was not aware that there was in the past a Litter Control Board and that it had been removed from the county budget prior to his administration,” she said.
Mike Kaha, deputy chief at the county’s Solid Waste Divsision, on Wednesday said he agrees littering is a problem on the island. It’s included in the department’s rules, but enforcement proposals are still being floated and have been met with resistance.
For now, enforcement is in the hands of the Hawaii Police Department. Tips regarding unsecured loads causing litter and traffic hazards should be reported to the police nonemergency line at 808-935-3311.
“We are moving forward with banners at the transfer stations reminding drivers to secure their loads,” Kaha said, with education being the first step before enforcement at the stations.
The next clean-up will be held Saturday, Dec. 4, with participants meeting at 8 a.m.in front of Pine Tree Cafe/Matsuyama Store. Volunteers are needed.
For more information, visit the Trash Free Hawaii Facebook page.
