Residents still have A stinky economy and automated garbage trucks may have dimmed the isle tradition of leaving gifts out for the trash man, but there is still plenty of aloha to go around, not to mention beer, soda, food and cash.
plenty of holiday aloha
for trash collectors
By Pat Gee
pgee@starbulletin.com"People of Hawaii are very generous," said Mendel Wong, a city garbage collector for 12 years. "They still give because of the tradition. They still come out and say 'thank you' for the service. There's still that bond."
The collectors still come in with beer, whiskey, wine, hams, turkeys and sometimes aloha shirts, said James Quinones, now superintendent of the Honolulu yard under the city's refuse collection branch.
"I miss the old days when I used to do it," Quinones said.
Yesterday and today are the biggest days of gift-giving, which extends all the way to New Year's Day, he said.
The collectors arrange for family or friends to follow their garbage trucks with pickup trucks to store the gifts, Quinones said. No alcohol is allowed on the garbage trucks, so alcoholic beverages must be on separate trucks anyway. And there are so many gifts of all kinds that there is no room on the garbage truck, he said.
Oahu began using automated trucks in 1992, and by 1999, 80 percent of the island was converted, according to David Shiraishi, administrator of the city's Refuse Division. Manual service is still done in areas where narrow lanes make it impossible for a truck to turn around.
Wong and Earl Chang, a 24-year veteran, both drive automated trucks now. But the generosity and appreciation of Hawaii residents are still about the same as they used to be when Wong and Chang were part of a three-person crew, handling the trash cans manually, they said.
Giving may have fallen a bit, but "I appreciate anything," said Wong, who has a Kapahulu route.
"It's real nice, but they don't have to do it; it's just a bonus."
Chang, who spent 21 years "behind the truck" and is now a relief driver in the Kahala, Manoa and Hawaii Kai districts, said the amount people give has not changed much. If it has decreased, he said, it is probably because of the slow economy or because "people don't see the three-man crew anymore."
But, he added, some customers still know their regular driver and will ask about him if Chang is working his route. Any gifts Chang receives, he gives to the regular driver, who in turn often shares with him.
Residents sometimes ask what they can give, but it does not matter as long as they give something from the heart, Chang said. "I don't expect anything."
Chang said in some ways he preferred the manual method because "we really got a lot of stuff" and he got to know the homeowners better. Some would come out to thank him and hand him a cold drink.
But the automated trucks are "easier on my body, and the pay is better," he said.
