GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM A broken scale under a pressure plate is causing inaccuracies at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill weigh station.

Broken landfill scale proves costly to city

Loads on garbage trucks are being underreported, thus cutting into revenue collected

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A broken scale at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill is costing the city thousands of dollars a day in lost revenue.

The scale has been under-weighing large garbage trucks by 2 tons to 3 tons per load for about two weeks, scale operator Roland Batangan said yesterday.

At the $92 per ton rate the city charges commercial trash haulers, 10 days of underreporting by 100 tons a day would mean a loss of $92,000.

Landfill manager Paul Burns said yesterday he does not think the problem is that bad. He said he expects a repair to be completed today will make the scale functional again.

Citizen watchdog Carroll Cox of Envirowatch said he believes the scale has had problems for years.

Two local companies estimated a new scale would cost $100,000 or less.

And Councilman Todd Apo questioned yesterday why city staff didn't mention the scale problem during a presentation on the landfill this week.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM A digital display read the weight of an emptied vehicle at the landfill yesterday.

When City Councilman Todd Apo learned yesterday that the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill scale isn't working properly, he called it "about the last straw."

"We have had continuous hearings on landfill and solid waste operations, including this past week, and no one has said anything about that fact," Apo said.

The broken scale is costing the city thousands of dollars a day in lost revenue. The scale has been under-weighing large garbage trucks by 2 tons to 3 tons per load for about two weeks, scale operator Roland Batangan said yesterday.

The city's operator is fixing the problem, but no one knows for sure how long the problem has been around or the amount of lost revenue.

Apo said that besides the broken scale, known landfill problems include: a pending $2.8 million state Health Department fine; gas emissions violations cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; still-unresolved height violations; and a bribery investigation.

The Leeward landfill's scale has "not been performing like it should be, probably eight months or more," said former scale operator Betty Nathaniel.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Paul Burns of Waste Management Inc. yesterday pointed to a scale part that is similar to a defective one at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill weigh station. A broken part within a pressure plate is being blamed for inaccuracies, costing the city revenue.

The scale has been "getting really, really worse" in recent weeks, Batangan said. "Before, like it was off a little. Now it's off like about 6,000 pounds" for larger trucks. The error is less for smaller trucks, he said.

State records show the Waimanalo Gulch scale worked correctly in September 2005 and August 2006, said William Pierpont, manager of the state Agriculture Department's measurement and standards branch.

Waste Management Inc., which operates the city-owned landfill under contract, told Pierpont yesterday that the scale was "weighing light -- in customers' favor," he said.

Repairs have been under way this week at night, said Paul Burns, Waste Management's manager for the landfill.

Burns called the scale errors "not a large issue." He allowed that "both the city and Waste Management are losing money," but wouldn't calculate how much.

Yesterday at 1:30 p.m., scale operator Batangan had logged in 311 tons of garbage, which he estimated was 80 tons to 90 tons less than a normal day. But Burns called a 100-ton-a-day variation in incoming trash "within the normal variation."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Roland Batangan, a scale operator with Waste Management Inc., yesterday scanned a card as the total weight of a vehicle was displayed.