Piles of trash along Farrington Highway have been an eyesore on the Leeward Coast for months.
Residents say they are fed up and want the trash gone.
Community members are trying to fix the problem of illegal dumping but say more needs to be done.
Mounds of trash line Farrington highway behind Keaau Beach Park.
"It's totally unhealthy for everybody, for the community, for this population that is depressed and also for tourism that come along our coast and beach," said resident Pake Salmon.
An unsightly image for anyone driving towards Yokohama Bay.
"For a few months already I have been driving by this area and we just see trash piling up here," said Salmon.
With many homeless families living along the coastline, catching whoever is dumping the trash is difficult to do.
"You see the trash bags along the side of the road and then you see the homeless that are living right near it but unless you witness them actually putting it there how can you say who's to blame," says Representative Maile Shimabukuro, (D) Waianae-Makaha-Makua.
Though some argue the items left behind are not things the homeless can use.
"There are tires, there's batteries and many other household products and garden clipping and white goods so the homeless have no use for a refrigerator but you can find components for a refrigerator out there," says Carroll Cox with Envirowatch.
Several community efforts have been made to clean up the area.
"We've been doing a bunch of beach clean-ups in that area and trying to educate the homeless there and telling them not to leave their trash," says Representative Shimabukuro.
"We're trying to do what we can from our end but there's just so much trash that piles up between the beach clean-ups it's become kinda an out of control problem," says Representative Shimabukuro.
Several community groups are planning to clean up the area on Saturday, December 19.
No comments:
Post a Comment