Legal Matters: Jane Sugimura

A Look at City’s Bulky Item Pick-up Program New appointment system is having an adverse effect on condo associations

Effective July 1, new rules for bulky item pick-ups under an appointment system went into effect. Those rules include the following: • Each address may have only one appointment per month, except in Waikiki where weekly pick-ups are allowed. • For multi-unit residential buildings, the default option is that each individual unit can make its own appointment for pick-up of up to five bulky items or two metal appliances per month. Buildings can opt out of the default by having a property or resident manager manage and schedule appointments for the entire building, limiting the total amount of items to 20 bulky items or eight metal appliances per appointment. Separate appointments must be made for bulky item and metal appliances because the trucks used to haul away those items differ. Buildings must select one of these options. They cannot use both. To opt out, a property or resident manager needs to contact the City’s Refuse Division at collection@honolulu.gov or call 768-3200 and press “0.” • When calling in an appointment or scheduling an appointment through your site or resident manager, you need to provide a description and quantity of the items to be picked up. Collection crews will only pick up items declared in the appointment call. • Leave items curbside no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before pick-up. • Items not declared in the appointment call will be left behind. Meaning that if someone dumps items on your frontage and you can identify them (not likely unless you have working cameras or 24/7 guard service), city refuse inspectors will take action to have those items removed by the culprit. Practically speaking, unless you can identify the “culprit,” your association will be responsible for disposing of the items or to store them until the next monthly pick-up, or pay a fine of $250 per violation. • The city website for detailed information is opala.org. • The city’s program emphasizes two concepts to minimize waste: “reduce” and “re-use.”

Reduce. Buy less and use less so there is less waste. Opt out of phonebooks, catalogs and junk mail. Go to opala.org and click on “waste prevention.”

Re-use. Consider re-use options before disposal. Opala.org has the names, contact information and dropoff locations for organizations that will accept used household items—and some will even pick-up. Many of these organization are charities, so you can get a tax deduction for the items you give away.

One of the major concerns expressed by condo residents about the new program is that the city will only pick up items that are declared when an appointment is made. But what has been happening is that when items appear on the sidewalk for pick-up, neighboring residents will add their items to the pile without calling in for an appointment. And that will result in items being left on the sidewalk for the association to dispose of at a later time.

For example, if a resident calls for an appointment to pick up a mattress and a dresser and then places the two items on the sidewalk for pick-up the evening before the appointment, another resident sees the items and, without calling in an appointment, leaves his mattress on the sidewalk. The next day when the city truck arrives for the pick-up, it will only take one mattress (and leave the second mattress on the sidewalk) because only one mattress was called in when the appointment was made. This has resulted in residents placing Postits on the items called in to make sure they will be picked up.

The city contends that its appointment system is more efficient because there is only a one- to two-day lag—under the old system, the City had four days to complete a bulky item pick-up. Those of us who live in condos, however, know that one or two days of items on the sidewalk is an open invitation to anyone who sees the “pile” to add their own items without calling for an appointment. This causes the association to become the “caretaker” of the items illegally disposed of on the sidewalk fronting their buildings, and in some cases the association becomes the entity responsible for policing any violations on their properties because the city will fine them for any violations.

Another concern expressed by site managers who manage multiple properties is that they cannot use the same computer to do online appointments for different projects because the city’s software recognizes their computer and will not allow a second appointment to be made from that computer. This concern has been reported to the city and it is working to find a solution since there are many managers who manage multiple properties.

To express your concern or to provide feedback on the new system, call the city at 768-3485. ❖

Jane Sugimura is a Honolulu attorney specializing in condo law. Reach her at ysugimura@paclawteam.com.