As Oahu residents face the persistent problem of uncollected garbage, the city's trash pick-up woes show no signs of an imminent resolution. In a statement obtained by KHON2, Honolulu Deputy Communications Director Ian Scheuring reported that efforts are underway to manage the crisis, but challenges persist. Overflowing bins have become a common sight in neighborhoods, and the city has warned that the current state of delays could last through 2025. “We have plenty of people, drivers, we just don’t have updated equipment,” explained Roger Babcock, Director of the Department of Environmental Services, pointing out that supply chain issues remain a significant hurdle.
According to Babcock in a statement to KHON2, Honolulu’s fleet of refuse trucks are overburdened and underfunded. His department, responsible for the city's waste management, is operating with about half the necessary fleet as new truck orders were canceled in 2020 due to supply chain interruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Babcock clarified, “That means that we have to collect with only about half the trucks, and they're constantly in and out of the shop.” Compounding the wear on the vehicles, some have to cover two routes a day, escalating their depreciation.
The city has welcomed the arrival of new trucks, with two recently coming into service to aid in the critical areas of Wahiawa and Honolulu. In an attempt to quell the growing unease over the accumulating waste, Babcock advised residents to leave their trash bins out, promising they would be attended to "later in the day, or the next day, or as soon as we can," as mentioned on KHON2.
But the problem isn’t confined to the residential streets. Hoodline reported that delays have also plagued city parks and condos, highlighting a Ridgecrest condominium complex in Mililani, where residents like Ryan Rowe have complained about the troubling accumulation of garbage. “Absolutely a health hazard, quite frankly it brings bugs, brings possibly rodents and other critters we don't want around our homes," Rowe told Island News.
