(Source: Hawaii News Now)
May 29, 2019
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – In a bid to rein in ballooning costs for handling trash, the city is moving Urban Honolulu’s bulky item pickup to an appointment-based system starting Monday.
In a news conference Wednesday, the city said it’s already received 860 reservations for pick-up across the urban core. One potential red flag, though: Only 12 reservations have been made in Kalihi.
Appointments can be made online at opala.org or by calling 768-3200.
[Read more: Here’s everything you need to know about the city’s new bulky item pilot]
Mayor Kirk Caldwell stressed that the switch to an appointment-based system is part of a pilot project. But he also made it clear that it’s a pilot with a long shelf life ― running at least through January ― and that if the demonstration doesn’t work the alternative might have to be charging for bulky item pickup.
The city hasn’t said if this pilot will be taken islandwide.
“There’s no other city in our country of large size that picks up bulky items for free,” he said. “We’re subsidizing the pick up of our solid waste more and more every year.”