Hawaii County Department of Environmental Management has announced it will reopen green waste disposal, after Mayor Harry Kim was prodded to do so by the Hawaii County Council.  Council members as well as the Mayor’s office have been getting numerous complaints as residential users, many with more time at home, have been piling up the green waste after the county shut down the facilities completely.

Green waste service for residential users will be available three days a week starting Saturday, May 9, from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the following locations:

Pahoa Transfer Station:  Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays

Ke’ei Transfer Station:  Sundays, Tuesdays, and Fridays

Waimea Transfer Station:  Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays

Hawaii County Council member Tim Richards, Vice Chair of the Environmental Management Committee, says  Mayor Kim has committed to reopen other locations, including Kealakehe, soon.

Solid Waste Division Chief Greg Goodale said on Friday morning that the department intends “to reopen Kealakehe once our baseyards are back to full staff.  We have had several workers who have been out on Administrative leave to assist with caring for their families.  We expect that we will be able to begin reopening Kealakehe on a limited basis as early as next week.”

Green waste service limits are a maximum of 1 residential load per day, and 5 cubic yards per load. (Five cubic yards is the equivalent of a full-sized pickup truck with an 8-foot bed filled up to the cab.)

Users must keep a 6 ft. or greater social distance from each other and facility employees.  If a 6 ft. social distance cannot be maintained,  all users must wear a mask or cloth face covering.

The county says anyone with symptoms of the COVID-19 virus will be restricted from using the services at these facilities, but it’s not clear who will make that determination, nor how.  But anybody who is sick should always stay home and away from others.