(Note: Bill 23 was introduced on March 28, 2022. However, it wasn’t until November of that year that Honolulu City Council informed the community that not all residents would be protected by the bill. Support for the bill ended because the community believes everyone must be protected. Ongoing efforts to end the injustice are on www.BeDignityAndLove.com)
Click the Play button to listen to the audio. These may just sound like the everyday sounds of private refuse workers going about their business of moving dumpsters, and the emptying of dumpsters, into refuse trucks. However, these sounds awaken residents and visitors as early as 2:30 a.m., 3:03 a.m., 4:09 a.m. or whatever time in the very early morning, every morning. When they disturb others with their actions at such early times, for up to 10 minutes depending on location, then these are the Sounds of Abuse.
Residents and visitors to Hawaii are impacted by the early morning sounds, and there is currently no law to protect them against the sounds. Infants, elderly people with health conditions, and those at the end of life and their loved ones are the most impacted by the Sounds of Abuse.
CITY COUNCIL
CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
HONOLULU, HAWAII
BILL 23 (2022)
A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE
RELATING TO PRIVATE REFUSE COLLECTION VEHICLES.
BE IT ORDAINED by the People of the City and County of Honolulu:
SECTION 1. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to preserve the tranquility of residential, apartment, and apartment mixed use neighborhoods against noise disturbances from the collection of refuse by private refuse collection vehicles by regulating the hours of collection.
SECTION 2. Section 9-2.3, Revised Ordinances of Honolulu 1990 (“Conditions of licenses”), is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
“(a) Every license issued under this article shall be subject to the following conditions:
(1) All vehicles used by the licensee for the collection of refuse [shall] must be so designed and constructed as to prevent the spilling or scattering of its contents upon the public streets. All such vehicles and equipment shall be kept in a clean, inoffensive, and sanitary condition. Such vehicles [shall] must carry at all times: a shovel, broom, and fire extinguisher. The name and phone number of the licensee [shall] must be marked on each side and across the back of all such vehicles and containers in letters not less than two inches in height. Trucks with a rated capacity of more than one and one-half tons used in the transportation or collection of refuse which contains garbage [shall] must be closed, leakproof, and constructed for the purpose of refuse collection. Vehicles shall not be loaded in excess of the gross vehicle weight[.];
(2) All refuse shall be handled and transported by the licensee in such a manner as to prevent scattering, spilling, or leaking of the same or to otherwise create a nuisance thereby or to violate any rule or regulation of the state department of health[.];
(3) All refuse collected by the licensee shall be disposed of at such disposal facilities or private disposal facilities within the disposal system designated by the director, or as otherwise directed by the director or the director’s authorized representative[.];
(4) Disposal charges incurred by the licensee for disposing of refuse at disposal facilities or private disposal facilities within the disposal system designated by the director shall be paid when due[.];
(5) The licensee shall not violate any provisions contained herein or in any other ordinance relating to the collection and disposal of refuse within the city[.];
(6) All vehicles and other equipment used by a licensee in the collection and transportation of refuse shall be inspected at least once per year by the director of the department of environmental services to determine use in conformance with this article and such rules and regulations as said director may duly promulgate pursuant hereto[.]; and
(7) No vehicle used by the licensee for the collection of refuse may be operated to collect refuse between the hours of 9:00 p.m. of one day and 6:00 a.m. of the following day in an area zoned residential, apartment, or apartment mixed use pursuant to Chapter 21. A highway or street will be deemed to be in an area zoned residential, apartment, or apartment mixed use if the properties on either side of the highway or street are so zoned.”
SECTION 3. Ordinance material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New ordinance material is underscored. When revising, compiling, or printing this ordinance for inclusion in the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, the Revisor of Ordinances need not include the brackets, the material that has been bracketed and stricken, or the underscoring.
SECTION 4. This ordinance takes effect upon approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Councilmembers
DATE OF INTRODUCTION:
MAR 28 2022
_____________________________
Honolulu, Hawai‘i
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
_____________________________
Deputy Corporation Counsel
APPROVED this______day of ____________________, 20______ .
_____________________________
RICK BLANGIARDI, Mayor
City and County of Honolulu
https://hnldoc.ehawaii.gov/hnldoc/document-download?id=13580
Loud early morning garbage
trucks raising concerns
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/loud-early-morning-garbage-trucks-raising-concerns/
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Noisy trash pick-ups at odd hours of the morning continue to startle residents who said they cannot get a goodnight’s sleep.
One resident took his concerns to a city councilman, and now there is a push to keep the noise down.
Waikiki resident Carlino Giampolo said he is constantly woken up by the roaring sound of garbage trucks and the banging of dumpsters being emptied. He said it happens almost daily, usually at a time when many are sound asleep.
Giampolo said, “Nobody deserves the indignity of being woken as early as 2:30 in the morning by the beeping, banging and clanging of dumpsters being emptied into the refuse trucks.”
Giampolo has made impassionate pleas to his neighborhood board and the Honolulu City Council to address the loud noise from private garbage trucks.
Jeff Merz is a Waikiki neighborhood board member. He said this has been a concern from residents for many years. He has heard about the noise issue for the 19 years he has been part of the board.
“Numerous complaints over the years, there’s also been some legislation over the years,” Merz said. “The issue has always been noise. They are private entities. For some reason, they are not held to the noise standards that public trucks are.”
Honolulu City Councilmember Calvin Say took note of the concerns from residents like Giampolo, he introduced Bill 23 to restrict hours of operation for privately operated garbage trucks. The bill proposes not to allow pick-up in residential zones from 9 PM to 6 AM.
Say said, “You are interrupting the sleeping behavior of our residents of Waikiki, Manoa, Makiki, Nuuanu, etc. And, you know, it’s something that, how can we try to accommodate our local residents.”
Say said he plans to bring up solutions once a hearing on the bill takes place. He said extending hours at the H Power Plant facility, to allow more schedule flexibility for refuse collection companies could be a start.
Say said, “Can H Power, with the contract that we have presently be modified to see that it may be extended in the evening time, as far as delivery of trash to H Power.”
The bill passed the council’s first reading unanimously.
KHON2 News has reached out to West Oahu Aggregate and the Honolulu Disposal Service for comment. KHON2 has not heard back.
Bill 23 City Council Testimony
By Carlino Giampolo
April 13, 2022
Dear Chair, Vice Chair, and members of the committee.
My name is Carlino Giampolo. I live in Waikiki, and I am testifying in support of Bill 23 because this is an issue about human dignity.
No resident deserves the indignity of being awakened in the early morning hours, as early as 2:30 a.m., by the beeping, banging, and clanging of dumpsters being moved and then emptied into refuse trucks.
I first became aware of this issue when I moved from Kakaako to Waikiki. Since mid-January, I have taken over 100 actions and written over 3,000 words to end the injustice of this early morning trash pickup.
I am grateful to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser for publishing my letter to the editor in the March 12 edition, in which I said that Honolulu City Council must pass a law protecting residents by prohibiting trash pickup by private refuse companies before 6 a.m.
I am grateful to Councilmember Calvin Say for introducing this bill, and I hope each member of the council gives the bill full support.
Trash pickup in Waikiki begins at 2:30 a.m. That is irrefutable. There is currently no law to protect residents from early morning trash pickup. That is also irrefutable.
However, when this law is passed, babies, elderly people with health conditions, and those at the end of life, who are impacted the most, will no longer be sleep deprived.
The State Department of Health can provide a long list of the harmful effects of sleep deprivation.
In addition to your own spiritual conscience, which can lead you to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, you already know what is necessary to pass this bill: 1) A BELIEF that respect for human dignity must be the highest priority, 2) a deep COMPASSION for your constituents, both known and unknown, 3) a strong DESIRE to protect residents from the actions of way too early trash pickup times and, 4) a creative and innovative IMAGINATION to overcome any objections to this bill.
Bill 23 can make history. When it becomes law, my fervent hope is that it will be emulated and become the law throughout this land of aloha, and end the pain and suffering that far too many people have suffered for far too long.
Thank you.
City Council Meeting
April 13, 2022
Bill 23
Passed unanimously the first reading. The testimony was incorporated as part of the measure.
Refuse Companies Short-staffed in Waikiki?
The following letter was sent on April 7, 2022.
By Carlino Giampolo
Mayor Rick Blangiardi,
Re: Refuse Companies Short-staffed in Waikiki?
After sending you the April 5 letter below by email and then hand-delivering a hard copy to your office, I returned to Waikiki and had a conversation with a Honolulu Disposal Service driver.
I asked him how many drivers and vehicles it takes to pick up the trash in all of Waikiki. His answer should be as appalling and alarming to you, and the members of Honolulu City Council, as it was to me.
He replied that a total of only four drivers and four vehicles work to complete all of Waikiki. They are divided into only two teams, each with two drivers and two vehicles. One driver moves the dumpster into position, and the other driver empties the dumpster into his refuse vehicle.
I then asked, when do the workers start and finish work? He replied that they begin at 2:30 a.m. and sometimes work 12 hours unless they can get done earlier.
If this is true, then each team does 1/2 of the Waikiki area. The work is completed in a maximum of 12-work-hours per team (24 work hours total).
However, if a third team could be added, then each team would do only 1/3 of the Waikiki area and the work would be completed in a maximum of 8 work hours per team (24 work hours divided by 3 teams).
A third team would also mean that 8 work hours per team can commence at 6 a.m. rather than 2:30 a.m. and still finish work at 2 p.m. or earlier.
Should you implement TheTrash plan, the city would need only three teams with a total of six workers and six vehicles to complete all trash pickup in Waikiki done by Honolulu Disposal Service, and the starting time would be at 6 a.m.
As you know, trash pickup in Waikiki is done by only two private refuse companies: Honolulu Disposal Service and West Oahu Aggregate. The current 2:30 a.m. start time mentioned above verifies what I said in a March 23 letter to the media, which also informed them of an upcoming protest in front of the Ritz-Carlton Residences.
There are now two alternatives to resolve early morning trash pickup time: TheTrash plan, and Bill 23. Either alternative or both could be implemented.
Should anyone oppose any of these alternatives, then they should be asked: Would you like to get wake-up calls at 2:30 a.m., 3:15 a.m., 3:31 a.m., 3:56 a.m., 4:12 a.m., or whatever time in the early morning private refuse companies disturb others with their actions – and then hear a recording of the beeping, banging, and clanging of dumpsters being moved and then emptied into refuse trucks?
The media is reporting that visitors’ arrivals are higher, not lower, than pre-pandemic levels. For instance, the Moana Surfrider Hotel is at 90% occupancy this week.
An audit of the private refuse companies must be done so that everyone has a complete understanding of the number of workers and vehicles needed to service Waikiki.
In addition to the physical actions to resolve early morning trash pickup times, you, and the nine members of Honolulu City Council, need only your spiritual conscience to end the pain and suffering that far too many people have been experiencing for far too long.
A Bold New Plan for the
Waikiki Special District – TheTrash
The following letter was sent April 5, 2022
By Carlino Giampolo
Mayor Rick Blangiardi,
Re: A Bold New Plan for the Waikiki Special District – TheTrash
Mayor Frank Fasi was the most fearless leader in the history of Honolulu. One of his many accomplishments for the residents of the City and County of Honolulu was the creation of TheBus.
In 1971, when bus drivers went on strike against Honolulu Rapid Transit, a private transportation company, the mayor didn’t bother to negotiate. Instead, he moved swiftly to initiate a new public transportation system.
He flew to Dallas, Texas, purchased 50 buses, and in 57 days, the new public transportation system was in operation. This system has since become a legacy and won national awards as the best of its kind in the nation.
City and County residents urgently need that same kind of courageous and audacious leadership now.
There is no law to protect residents and visitors from early morning trash pickup times by West Oahu Aggregate and Honolulu Disposal Service. Consequently, residents are awakened as early as 2:30 a.m. with the excruciating sounds of beeping, and the banging and clanging of dumpsters being moved and then emptied into refuse vehicles.
A bold new plan for the Waikiki Special District – TheTrash
1) Create a new refuse collection system called TheTrash.
2) Begin implementing the system in the Waikiki Special District, and then eventually expand to the entire City and County of Honolulu.
3) Purchase the vehicles needed for the Waikiki Special District from West Oahu Aggregate and/or Honolulu Disposal Service.
4) If the companies refuse to sell, then allocate money from the federal stimulus program or seek another source of funding available for the purchase of the vehicles.
5) Take over the commercial accounts that the private refuse companies currently have with hotels and condominium associations.
Coordinate the plan with the Honolulu City Council.
Babies, elderly people with health conditions, and those at the end of life, who are impacted the most, would no longer be sleep deprived. No one would have to suffer the indignity of being awakened unnecessarily in the early morning hours by the activities of private refuse companies. The Department of Health could provide information on the many benefits of having regular, uninterrupted sleep patterns.
Another benefit of TheTrash plan is the strong support from unions that are opposed to the privatization of refuse collection.
You already know what is necessary to implement TheTrash plan: 1) A BELIEF that respect for human dignity must be the highest priority; 2) a creative and innovative IMAGINATION to overcome any objections to the plan; 3) a strong DESIRE to protect residents from the actions of way too early trash pickup times; and 4) a deep COMPASSION for your constituents, both known and unknown, who suffer from the harmful effects of private refuse companies’ wrongful actions on both their health and longevity.
Until the above plan is implemented, we will continue to fight for a new law: No trash pickup before 6 a.m.
Protect your constituents. Remember the legacy of Frank Fasi. Implement: A bold new plan for the Waikiki Special District – TheTrash.