Letters | 3-22-15

Find a green waste solution that works for all

Bill Downes makes some good points about the green waste situation in his letter to West Hawaii Today published March 10 but he doesn’t go far enough. Just charging a fee for green waste disposal and requiring that commercial green waste be hauled to Puuanahulu may cause more trouble than it may be worth.

Keep in mind that in 2005, the same council that approved charging for green waste disposal also approved a 30 percent raise for themselves. In their zest to legislate, they also approved increasing the county budget by more than double. It is obvious that the green waste department of the county didn’t need the money then and so it sat on the books for 10 years. Now, 10 years later, the fee is implemented without justification or some effort to work out a palatable solution.

Should not the green waste department be required to justify the need for the tipping fee before it is implemented? Could we have a public hearing that would give those affected by the fee an opportunity to work with the county in finding the solution for the justification once it is declared?

What has changed in the past 10 years that the green waste department now needs another $500,000? Of that amount, how much will be used to support the program? Will they need to hire additional help? Will the program be more efficient than it now is? Shouldn’t we, the commercial guys who will be paying the tipping fee expect a more efficient system? If this requirement more than doubles the amount of people driving through the scale house won’t that cause delays that will create more problems? Will removing the commercial guys from the transfer stations save the county enough money to justify the added inconveniences it would cause? These are only a few of the questions that need to be answered before a conclusion can be reached.

There are ways to make it work. All we need is an opportunity to work with the county, understand the need, suggest solutions, then all pull together to make this work. Delaying the fee until July was a good move, now let’s use the time to find a solution that works for all.

Leningrad Elarionoff

Waimea

Dwindling fish numbers may cause more shark attacks

I have to comment on the recent shark attack at Hapuna Beach.

The increase in the number of incidents off the North Kona and South Kohala coasts may be related to overfishing in the area. When I see the number of boats out there depleting the already dwindling number of fish, I realize the predators may be coming closer to shore in search of food.

The Hawaiian green sea turtle is protected by the Endangered Species Act. Try explaining that to a tiger shark. Fortunately for Kona surfers and snorklers, the turtles evidently taste better than we do.

John Totten

Kailua-Kona