Hāwī transfer station to reopen this weekend

It’s been 5 days since the Hāwī transfer station was shuttered after an unknown person carelessly discarded a hazardous material into a rubbish collection bin, contaminating the facility and threatening not just the surrounding environment but the health of those who work there and other North Hawai‘i residents.

The community will have to cope only a short time longer following successful containment and cleanup of the improperly disposed material.

The Hawai‘i County Department of Environmental Management will reopen the Hāwī Transfer Station on Saturday for regular service hours, which are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Hāwī residents and those of the surrounding areas are asked to continue trucking their trash to the Waimea or Puakō transfer stations, about 22 or 25 miles away, respectively while the closure continues.

The extended closure began Sept. 22 when an unidentified liquid, later confirmed to be transformer oil, was dumped into the chute of the transfer station’s collection bin, contaminating other trash inside.

That prompted immediate action by Hawai‘i Fire Department, the Hawai‘i Department of Health and county Solid Waste crews.

Transformer oil requires additional time and resources for proper disposal.

The incident has not only disrupted services and been a major inconvenience for the Hāwī community, it underscores the importance of safely handling hazardous materials.

Improper disposal of substances such as transformer oil threatens public health, strains emergency resources and damages the island’s environment.

Environmental Management offers free household hazardous waste collection events regularly, with the next scheduled for Dec. 7 and 14.

However, residents are urged to safely dispose of items such as oil, chemicals, batteries and other dangerous materials as soon as possible.

Visit the Environmental Management website or contact the department at 808-961-8270 or SWD@hawaiicounty.gov for a list of hazardous waste disposal locations.