3-Cart Refuse / Recycling Collection
What you need to know:
About Your Carts
About Sorting
About Your Collection Schedule
Additional Cart Options
Rules/Guidelines for Cart Use
Tips for Sorting, Recycling and Reducing Waste and Litter
Additional Drop-off Options
FREE Mulch
Background Program Development
Currently, 160,000 single-family homes are in the three-cart curbside recycling program serviced with a fully automated collection system. Plans are currently underway to expand curbside recycling to the remaining 20,000 homes that are on manual, refuse-only collection routes. These areas are in pockets of neighborhoods around Oahu which were not accessible by the automated collection truck, and will be serviced in what's called a "semi-automated" system. More information to come.
About Your Carts
Your household should have
a complement of three carts for sorting your waste – gray
for refuse, green for green waste, and blue for mixed recyclables.
Additional carts are available
to accommodate larger generating households.
Additional cart Options
Rules/Guidelines for Cart Use
About Sorting
Green waste includes grass, tree and hedge
trimmings; Christmas trees (no ornaments or flocking).
Mixed recyclables include newspaper,
corrugated cardboard, white and colored office paper, glass bottles and jars, aluminum
cans and plastic containers
#1 and #2 plastic codes.
Rinse containers. Remove lids. Labels are okay.
More detail about What
to Recycle.
More detail about plastic
resin codes.
More detail and tips for sorting.
No other
paper, magazines, telephone books, glossy paper, cereal
or tissue boxes. No other glass, such as drinking
glasses,
ceramics, window glass. No other plastic, such as polystyrene
foam, plastic
tubs, plastic bags, plastic toys.
You may notice the City's Opala Team checking blue and green
carts very early in the mornings. City ENV personnel are tracking
the quantity and quality of the collected materials, and may
tag your cart if they note problems to help you make any needed
corrections. Click
here to learn more about the inspection process.
About Your Collection Schedule
Your refuse and recycling carts are serviced on one of these schedules: Monday/Thursday, Tuesday/Friday or Wednesday/Saturday. One collection day is for refuse in the gray cart and the other is for recycling pickup, alternating weekly between the green and blue carts. In some areas, the first collection day is for recycling and second day for refuse. In other areas it is the reverse. Please see the specific collection schedule for your area and a monthly calendar showing alternating weekly schedules. Click
here for Collection Schedules and Calendars.
Additional Cart Options
If your household consistently
generates more than the average quantity of green waste
or non-recyclable refuse, you can request additional
carts at no charge. You may request up to two additional
green carts for green waste. A second gray cart can be issued to
households with large families and greater amounts of refuse,
and set out in tandem on your once per week pickup day.
There
is no charge for these additional carts; however, the households
will be asked to demonstrate need. Households requesting
an additional gray refuse cart must be fully recycling to
qualify. Please call the City’s Recycling Office
at 768-3200 to make your request. Please be prepared for
City
personnel to inspect and monitor your refuse setout.
Tips for Sorting, Recycling and Reducing Waste and Litter
- Set
aside an area in your kitchen, perhaps under the sink,
to place a small collection container for mixed recyclables
for
your family’s convenience. All of the recyclables
can be mixed together, so all you need is a single container.
- Deposit
green waste directly into the cart as you do your yard
work – it’s
convenient and eliminates the need to purchase yard bags.
- Deposit
loose green waste and mixed recyclables into your carts. Avoid
using bags as much as possible.
- All material must fit in
the cart with the lid closed. Carts with green waste or refuse
or boxes protruding out the top
cannot be collected. Please cut branches, flatten boxes.
- Heavy amounts of grass
clippings may be bagged to prevent clumping. Or place cut
branches in the bottom of the cart to
help the material slide out during collection.
- Meter your green waste over more
than one collection day if your household generates high
volumes of green waste
sporadically, but not consistently for every pickup. Green waste pickup
is provided every other week, while most households do yard work
monthly. It may not be possible to set out all
of your green waste on the very next single collection day. You may need to
distribute it over the two or more collection
days provided each month.
- Consider leaving grass clippings on
your lawn as you mow to reduce your volume of green waste – it’s
called grass-cycling and adds nutrients to
the soil. A full year of grass-cycling
is equivalent to one fertilizer treatment.
- Another volume reducing technique is to allow leaves and
branches to sit in a pile and dry out for about a week
before putting them into your cart.
- Bag all garbage before placing into your
refuse cart. Keep the lid of your refuse closed and covers
on all
garbage receptacles around your home.
- Periodically wash out your refuse cart.
Additional Drop-off Options
Households may also drop off refuse,
bulky items and green waste at any of the City’s Convenience
Centers or green waste can be taken directly to the composting
facility. There is
no charge. If you take your green waste to the composter,
you can also use this opportunity to pickup free mulch.
Refuse & Recycling
Convenience Centers
Open seven days; 7:00am - 6:00pm
Closed Christmas and New Year’s Day
Ewa, Geiger Road
Laie, Kamehameha Highway
Wahiawa, Wilikina Drive
Waianae, Plantation Road
Waimanalo, Hihimanu Street
Waipahu, Waipahu Depot Street
Kawailoa (Haleiwa), Kawailoa Road
Kapaa Transfer Station, Kapaa Quarry Road (10am - 6:00pm,
Mon - Fri; 7:00am - 6:00pm, Sat - Sun)
Composting Sites
Hawaiian Earth Products
Leeward, Campbell Industrial Park
Mon-Fri, 7:00am - 4:30pm
Sat-Sun, 8:00am - 12:00pm
682-5895
Special note to town homes, multi-family dwellings and homes
serviced with a manual refuse collection system (not with the
wheeled carts). The City does not provide curbside pickup of green
waste or mixed recyclables to your homes. However, drop-off
facilities are available to all householders, as well as
bulky collection
service, community
recycling carts, household
hazardous waste drop-off events and more.
FREE Mulch Sites
 Organic mulch holds in moisture, controls weeds and reduces
soil erosion, saving energy and resources. Mulch can be used
around plants in the garden or as soft "paving" for
garden paths. Mulch (and compost) can be purchased at local garden
shops or directly from Oahu composting companies. Mulch is also
available free from the City.
Halawa Xeriscape Garden
Address: 99-1268 Iwaena Street, Aiea, 96701
Location: Garden is located at the end of Iwaena Street. Click
for map.
Call: 748-5041
*Note: Mulch available on Saturdays 9AM to 3:00PM ONLY
Hawaiian Earth Products, Windward
Address: 101 Kapaa Quarry Road, Kailua, 96734
Location: Turn mauka on road across from Kawai Nui Marsh Model
Airplane Park. Click
for map.
Call: 261-5877
Hawaiian Earth Products, Campbell Industrial Park
Address: 91-400 Malakole St., Kapolei, 96707
Location: Mulch piles visible from the road. Click
for map.
Call: 682-5895
Leeward Community College
Address: 96-045 Ala Ike St., Pearl City, 96782
Location: Ewa end of road past the LCC parking lots.
Background Program Development
Mililani and Hawaii Kai were the first communities and assisted
the City in gathering information and refining the system in
pilot programs that began October 2007.
Click to review the Curbside
Recycling Pilot Program Evaluation Report.
The islandwide expansion began one year following the pilot, and new communities were added every six months:
October 2007: Mililani, Hawaii Kai
November 2008: Kuliouou to Manoa, Kapahulu; Kailua,
Lanikai; Mokuleia to Sunset
May 2009: Waipio Gentry to Halawa; Wahiawa, Whitmore, Waipio
Estates, Launani Valley; Kaneohe; Waimanalo
November 2009: Foster Village to Makiki; Kahuku to Kahaluu
May 2010: Makakilo to Waikele, Waipahu; Ewa Beach to West Loch;
Honokai Hale to Makua
The program expansion followed the program design used for the pilot. Early results were encouraging and as the program expanded, so did public support. Mayor Hannemann held community meetings around Oahu in April and May 2007 and again in April 2008 to gather residents’ input on the proposed curbside system. Click
here for a recap of the 2007 meetings. |
