Waianae dump costs
state $1.2 millionCleanup of the illegal site involves
more than 662,000 tires
The state has paid more than $1.2 million to clean up an illegal tire dump in Waianae, removing more than 662,000 shredded and partially burned tires from the site.
The state Department of Health said yesterday that its contractor, Unitek Solvent Services Inc., had completed the cleanup, selling 5,014 tons of tires to AES Hawaii Inc. to be processed for energy generation. A remaining 1,586 tons of tire debris was taken to Waimanalo Gulch Landfill.
The company took 14 months to clean the five-acre property.
The land on Mailiili Road is owned by Richard Avilla and Pearl Key, according to Steven Chang, head of the Health Department's Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch. The state will try to recoup costs from them, he said.
They could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Avilla and Key are trustees for Industrial Technology, which began operating the Waianae tire dump in 1994 as a tire recycling facility, but failed to obtain a solid waste permit from the Department of Health.
The department was concerned the operators of the site were not taking necessary precautions to prevent potential fire.
In December 1997, a pile of shredded tires caught fire, forcing the evacuation of several nearby residents from their homes.
Industrial Technology had filed for bankruptcy before the December fire, the Health Department said, and was permitted to abandon the property by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
State Health Department