Keehi site will stop accepting green waste
The city will stop accepting green waste at the Keehi Refuse Transfer Station starting Dec. 18, because the station has reached capacity, said Eric Takamura, city Department of Environmental Services director.
"It opened in the 1970s and was designed to handle up to 500 tons of refuse per day. We're right up to that figure right now," he said.
Takamura said the city is seeing a growing volume of green waste dropped off at Keehi, not just from homeowners, but also from landscaping firms avoiding commercial tipping fees.
People who show up at Keehi with green waste after Dec. 17 will be directed to the two Hawaiian Earth Products facilities that turn green waste into compost and mulch. One facility is at 101 Kapaa Quarry Road in Kailua, and the other is at 91-400 Malakole St. in Campbell Industrial Park.
Homeowners can drop off up to two loads per day free of charge. The commercial fee is $42 per ton.
Homeowners can save themselves the trip by using the city's free semi-monthly curbside pickup service.
The Keehi transfer station handles all of the refuse the city collects from 800,000 homes and apartments between Makapuu and Halawa.