LIHU‘E — Residents in Lihu‘e, Puhi and sections of Hanama‘ulu started receiving the new refuse carts over the weekend. Last weekend, 1,500 containers were scheduled for delivery with an additional 1,500 carts being delivered this weekend, a county news release
LIHU‘E — Residents in Lihu‘e, Puhi and sections of Hanama‘ulu started receiving the new refuse carts over the weekend.
Last weekend, 1,500 containers were scheduled for delivery with an additional 1,500 carts being delivered this weekend, a county news release states.
These refuse carts are in preparation for the county’s move toward automated refuse collection which is scheduled to start July 1.
These new carts should not be used for trash pickup until July 1 because the new trucks required to service the carts will not be in operation until that date. Residents should continue to use their regular garbage containers until July 1.
The garbage collectors on Monday and Tuesday encountered some problems with residents putting out trash in the new carts, according to Donald Fujimoto, the county engineer. He said when the situation was brought to his attention, people were sent to the radio stations to explain that the new containers are not to be used until July 1.
If there was trash in the new containers, it was not picked up because the crews do not have the facilities to handle the new containers, he said.
The new carts are designed to work with a specialized side-loader refuse truck with a mechanical arm. The cart has a 96-gallon capacity, which is currently three times more than the current limit in the manual collection system, the release states.
Along with the start of the automated refuse collection service, the schedule for rubbish pickup will change for most residences on the island starting July 1.
Even if your household is not converting to automated pickup during the first phase, the weekly pickup date is likely to change because route adjustments for Phase I created a “ripple effect” requiring balance and reorganization of collections routes throughout the island, states the kauai.gov website.
Households that do not have county curbside refuse pickup are not affected by this change.
Brochures outlining details of the automated refuse collection were hand delivered to impacted residents at the start of the month. More brochures are available at any of the neighborhood centers or public libraries.
Visit www.kauai.gov to see how the new system affects an individual collection date, or call 241-4895.
