KAPOLEI, Hawaii (KHON2) — West Oahu residents now have a new place to safely bring their trash, recyclables, green waste and more.
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The Kapolei Convenience Center opened on Friday, Oct. 27 in Campbell Industrial Park and officials said they hope it helps to curb the ongoing problem of illegal dumping.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said the new $2.45 million Kapolei Convenience Center is a huge step for West Oahu.
“And so this particular one is not only big, it’s modern, it’s efficient, it’s going to reduce long lines but more than anything, hopefully it’s going to really cut down on the illegal dumping, especially on this side of the island,” Blangiardi said.
Residents can check the line through a website that streams directly from an on site camera. The center takes solid and green waste, metal and various recyclables.
“They’ll be directed by the guard when they come in and they’ll be told which side to go to depending on what they have,” said Department of Environmental Services director Roger Babcock. “Because there’s two lanes, you don’t have to wait. And also, once you’re done loading, you don’t have to wait for everybody in front of you to finish, you can pull out because there’s room in the middle.”
The first customer said the Kapolei Convenience Center really does live up to its name.
“We went to the Ewa Beach one and they weren’t taking metal at the time and they told us, ‘Hey, come to this one.’ So we Googled it and we came right out here,” Ewa resident Samie Jo Ongori said. “It’s convenient, It’s like maybe a 20 minute drive from our house, isn’t too bad. But I know there’s a lot of residents out here that are going to love it.”
The Kapolei Convenience Center does not just take regular trash, green waste and metal recyclables — larger items like refrigerators and washing machines — known as white goods — can be dropped off right around the corner.
“If we can keep Oahu clean and stop the illegal dumping right now, right here, growing up in a place that, you know, where people will take care of their opala in a proper way, that’s a big thing,” Blangiardi said.
West side council members agree.
“Districts like mine, Waipahu, and Ewa, we have a lot of illegal dumping,” council member Augie Tulba said. “What we want to do is make sure that our districts are clean.”
“We don’t want to see that anymore,” council member Andria Tupola said, “so if you’re on your way home and you want to stop here or if you’re in this area, it’s new, use it!”
The Kapolei Convenience Center is open daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Christmas and New Year’s.
