In Waimanalo, residents battle illegal dumping blocks from free city trash center

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Waimanalo residents say their neighborhood is being plagued by a series of illegal dump sites.

Hawaii News Now found several of the dump sites within blocks of a free, city-run trash center.

“I just got back from a third world country and it’s sad to say it’s cleaner there. There’s less dumping," said one resident, who didn’t want his name used.

“It’s really disappointing. There’s a perfectly good dump down the road that’s open to the public and they’ll take pretty much anything you need to get rid of.”

In fact, the Waimanalo Convenience Center on Hihimanu Street is open seven days a week. Yet, the trash is literally blocks away.

For instance, on Waikupanaha Place, junked cars, trash, old appliances and buckets of brake fluid line the roadside.

At the end of Mahailua Street, bags of tiles ― that could contain asbestos ― were dumped there recently along with cans of paint and other household rubbish.

Environmental watchdog Carroll Cox blames the landowner for not doing enough to police the roadsides and keep them clean. That landowner is the state.

“None of this should be tolerated. Absolutely none of it," he said.

"When it’s dumped here, there should be an effort on the part of the government to come out and actually respond.”

HNN reached out to the state, but didn’t get a response.

Copyright 2019 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.