QUESTION: I recently went to dump yard clippings at the green waste facility on Kapaa Quarry Road, but was turned away and told to take my greenery to the city transfer facility down the road. There I was I directed to dump the material in an area outside the main building, where a payloader then transferred it inside the building. This seems to be a total waste of manpower and time. The old system worked just fine. What gives?

ANSWER: Good question, because there has been a change as to where householders on the Windward Oahu side can dump their green waste for recycling without charge.

Under its old contract with the city, Hawaiian Earth Products allowed residents to dispose of their green waste for free at its facility on Kapaa Quarry Road.

But the free service at Kapaa ended with a new contract signed “;a couple of months ago”; by the city and Hawaiian Earth Products, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Services.

Rather than force Windward residents to haul their green waste to Campbell Industrial Park, where Hawaiian Earth Products has its other facility, the department decided to accept green waste at its Kapaa Transfer Station, “; just a stone's throw”; from the Hawaiian Earth Products site, Owens said.

That also avoids the problem of people illegally dumping their green waste.

Green waste taken to the city's transfer station is still being recycled: City workers are hauling it to Campbell Industrial Park, said Owens.

It's uncertain why the terms changed with the new contract. We asked for a comment from Hawaiian Earth Products but did not receive a call back.

QUESTION: What is the law in Hawaii about having baby car seats in the front seat? I know some states allow it if the passenger-side airbag is disabled.

ANSWER: There is no state law regarding NOT placing child restraint seats in the front, although you're warned not to do so.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's fact sheet on child passenger safety says: “;All children ages 12 years and younger should ride in the back seat. Adults should avoid placing children in front of airbags. Putting children in the back seat eliminates the injury risk of deployed front passenger-side airbags and places children in the safest part of the vehicle in the event of a crash.”;

Under Section 291-1.5 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, which deals with “;child passenger restraints,”; children under the age of 4 are required to be placed in a federally approved child passenger restraint system.

Children 4 to 7 years old are required to be in a child safety seat or booster seat, unless they are taller than 4 feet, 9 inches or more than 40 pounds and traveling in a motor vehicle that only has lap seat belts in the back seat.

You can get more information about how to install a safety seat and how to secure your child properly by going to a child safety seat inspection station. Go to hsblinks.com/1c2 to find locations or call the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition at 537-9200.

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