Hawaii Forces Only Maui Scrap Yard to Close

Maui’s only operating scrap yard is closing on orders from the state of Hawaii’s Department of Health.

Last month, Maui Scrap Metal Co. received the latest in a series of warnings to cease operations because it does not have a valid solid waste permit to process scrap.

"We’re just following what they’re telling us," said owner Roger Apana.

With the closure, there will be no place on Maui to dispose of vehicles and appliances.

The announcement sent a wave of alarm and anger through repair shops and other companies that deal with white goods on a regular basis.

"I have nowhere to put the stuff. I have no storage," said Steve Hilyard of Alltemp Inc. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, a contractor.

He and others warned that the closure would lead to a rash of illegal dumping on Maui’s roads.

The problem is not likely to be resolved immediately.

Maui County has moved to award an $825,000 contract to Kitagawa’s Towing & Transport to process junked cars and appliances, but the contract has been held up by protests filed by two competing bidders.

"Hopefully, once we resolve (the protests) we can award a contract," said Milton Arakawa, director of the county Department of Public Works and Environmental Management.

But Kitagawa’s does not yet have a state solid waste permit to recycle scrap, nor a county special management area permit to operate on its Hobron Avenue lot, which is near the shoreline.

Mike Kitagawa said his efforts to get the permits are progressing.

"I’m very, very close, I think, to obtaining the permit," he said.

Once Kitagawa gets the special management area permit he will be able to accept up to 25 cars a day for processing, and with the solid waste permit he can take in more vehicles for storage, he said.

The state Department of Health’s Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch sent a warning letter to Roger Apana on Feb. 4, ordering him to immediately stop accepting all solid waste, including vehicles, scrap metal and fiber.

Apana said he has a contested case hearing with the Health Department next week and is "trying to show good faith" in closing the scrapyard.

He said he had resisted closing earlier because there was no place else for Maui residents to take their scrap.

"I told them if we closed the doors there would be a lot of abandoned autos and a lot more littering," he said.

Health Department spokeswoman Laura Lott said the February letter was "just reiterating what they had already been told" in previous warnings.

She said the state had not yet decided whether fines would be issued in the case.

"It’s still under investigation," she said.

Apana said he was "always optimistic" about getting a health permit to reopen, but he added that he had not been able to obtain one so far because he couldn’t get the support of his landlord.

"We’ve been stalled at every turn," he said.

Maui Scrap Metal employees will still be employed after Friday because there is so much material stockpiled at the facility it could take a year to process it all, he said.

The inventory includes a large amount of material that was burned in a fire on Jan. 25.

Hilyard was angry and said county officials should have planned sooner to set up an alternative facility for vehicles and appliances.

"The county’s continued to keep their head in the sand," he said. "We’ve got a big problem that’s going to get acute next week."

Hilyard takes about a ton-and-a-half of scrap metal to Maui Scrap Metal each week, mostly air conditioners and compressors he disposes of for customers.

Now when he installs a new air conditioner, he’s going to have to leave the old one on the customer’s property, he said.

Susan Armstrong, manager of Appliance Service Co. Maui, had the same complaint.

"Where are we supposed to dispose of these appliances?" she asked.

But she was even more concerned about illegal dumping.

"The greater impact is going to be to the general public – the responsible people who want to do the right thing are not going to have any place to dump these appliances," she said.

She was "astounded" to have only two days’ notice of the Maui Scrap Metal closure, and she agreed with Hilyard that the county was not meeting its responsibilities.

"I believe the county has known for some time that this was coming, and the fact that there was no alternative plan in place dismayed me the most," she said.

"Somebody at the county level needs to address this situation," said David McShannock, owner of Appliance Garage.

He said appliance disposal had become a steady income stream since he started business in October, and he wasn’t sure if he should continue to offer the service to customers.

"I don’t know where to go. My shop fills up with refrigerators inside of a week," he said.

He was grateful for what short amount of notice he received.

"It’s good that I know I have until Friday," he said. "I can get rid of what I have on hand here. But after Friday, I don’t know what I’m going to do." Maui News