Anti-dumping campaign’s
reviews mixed
The city's campaign to curb illegal dumping appears to be a success, Mayor Jeremy Harris said in a news release yesterday.
But the president of a Hawaii-based environmental watchdog group disagreed, saying there are several problem areas on Oahu that the city has not addressed.
"I'm seeing more (dumping) than ever, to be honest with you," said Carroll Cox, president and founder of EnviroWatch Inc. "If you go to Waianae you still see a great volume."
The city kick-started its "Don't Dump in Hawaii: Put Opala in Its Place" program in April, putting out newspaper, radio and television ads and setting up a hot line for residents to report illegal dumping.
"The aura of frustration and apathy regarding this issue seems to be lifting," Harris said. "Government agencies, community groups and individuals are encouraged by the effectiveness of the collaborative effort."
In the past three months, the city's hot line (692-5656) has gotten about 150 calls from residents reporting illegal dumping sites.
The city has cleaned up 130 of the sites reported, officials said, and is working to remove trash from 25 others. Information on the extent of the dumping at the sites was not immediately available.
"Our campaign sought to take residents to the next level," said Suzanne Jones, of the city's Department of Environmental Services. "We wanted them to start taking action -- reporting illegal dumping and supporting penalties."
Cox said the city should scrap the campaign and instead work closely with the state to create a program that works to increase enforcement of dumping laws and employs the resources of volunteer groups for cleanup efforts.
"If anybody's claiming a success, then it should be questioned," Cox said. "We're not even making a dent."
Also yesterday, the city released the results of a late-April survey that found that about 62 percent of 371 Oahu residents polled were familiar with the city's illegal-dumping campaign.
The city, state and Environmental Protection Agency are planning a late-fall conference on how to combat illegal dumping. Officials said the event will include seminars on enforcement and technology.
