Cleaning Up Waimanalo For Everyone
A community recycling drive is planned for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 5 at Waimanalo Beach Park, adding a canned food drive for Hawaii Food-bank, as well as accepting an unlimited number of residential and commercial computers and e-waste, and one TV set per car.
Proceeds from redemption fees will benefit the nonprofits Hui O Ko’olaupoko and the Oahu Resource Conservation and Development.
The Hui hopes to recruit up to 100 volunteers to help coordinate duties that day. It also has youths from Hui Malama O Ke Kai committed over winter break to surveying the community for more areas to clean up.
“The annual cleanup (is a) a hands-on opportunity to care for the natural resources in the Waimanalo community, including the beauty of its back roads, streams, mountains and bay,” said Hui o Ko’olaupoko community coordinator Kristen Mailheau.
The Going Green drive welcomes all kinds of metal, appliances, HI-5 containers, cooking oil, cell phones, printer cartridges, newspapers, cardboard egg cartons and drink trays, phone books, corrugated cardboard, magazines, plastic bags and caps, batteries, tires (four per household), fire extinguishers and propane tanks (maximum of three), pet food and supplies, prom dresses, business suits, plastic playground equipment, football helmets – and even white pairs of socks (for Afghanistan).
Goodwill and Lions clubs will make use of any donated clothing, household items, hearing aids and eyeglasses. Participants also can swap incandescent light bulbs for CFLs. The drive cannot accept paint, microwave ovens, motor oil or hazardous fluids.
Mailheau hopes the drive will exceed last year’s collection of 15,000 pounds of scrap metal, 200 tires, three roll-off bins of trash and bulky items, six pallets of electronic waste, 1,000 pounds of paper and magazines and much more.
For curbside pickup, call Mailheau at 381-7202; for free towing of unwanted cars and other details, call Rene Mansho at 291-6151.
The Hui also seeks help to sort the recyclable items as well as other volunteers to pick up litter throughout the watershed.
Local businesses supporting the Jan. 5 event so far with funds and supplies are Waimanalo Agricultural Association, Castle Medical Center, Pioneer Hi-Bred, The Trash Man, Sweet Home Waimanalo, Waimanalo Feed & Supply, Shima’s Market and Keneke’s.
Lawmakers involved are Mazie Hirono, Tulsi Gabbard, Laura Thielen, Chris Lee, Ikaika Anderson and Mayor-elect Kirk Caldwell.
