Is that your Lincoln? 

Large scale enforcement effort underway at Kea‘au Beach Park

Dozens of abandoned vehicles, heavy machinery, and bulky items being removed from shoreline area

News Release from City and County of Honolulu, October 22, 2019

WAI‘ANAE – Combined efforts from numerous city departments, state coordinators, non-government organizations and volunteer community members are currently underway with the goal of cleaning a stretch shoreline along the Leeward Coast north of the Kea‘au Beach Park campgrounds.           

The undeveloped park land held an estimated 10 illegal encampments, which had accumulated a large number of derelict machinery and bulky items, including approximately:

38 automobiles
Two boats
A jet ski
Dozens of tires
Mattresses, pallets, and numerous other types of inoperable machinery

Motorists utilizing Farrington Highway in this area are advised to drive with caution as one lane of the highway will periodically be closed to allow for staging and transport of heavy machinery.

Prior to and during the ongoing enforcement efforts outreach services were provided to homeless individuals, by Kealahou West O‘ahu, on multiple occasions.

The Hawaiian Humane Society is providing support for the dozens of animals, mostly dogs, which were kept in this area.

“We are encouraged that this collaborative outreach and enforcement effort will help remove some of the larger items that have littered this beautiful coastline,” said Marc Alexander, Executive Director for the Mayor’s Office of Housing. “We hope that this will provide a clean slate for this beach to be enjoyed by everyone, with support from the community to help activate this area and keep it as clean as possible.”

The non-profit group Protectors of Paradise, along with the office of State Representative Cedric Gates, are organizing a volunteer cleanup of the area following this large outreach-enforcement effort. Details of the cleanup are expected soon.   

Their most recent volunteer efforts, which included other non-profit organizations, resulted in the removal of seven tons of rubbish, over 60 tires, and six derelict automobiles.

Since early September, several outreach-enforcement efforts have been conducted to cleanup various city locations stretching from the Leeward Coast to Waipahū, in addition to other locations throughout the island.

Following the first Stored Property Ordinance enforcement that began in January 2012, debris and rubbish has been removed from streets, sidewalks, parks, and city facilities across the island by various city crews. Through September 2019 the City and County of Honolulu has removed the following (not including this most-recent effort):

5.482 million tons of trash
16,587 shopping carts
3,955 cubic yards of metal (recycled)

In 2019 alone, 215 unsheltered individuals have been assisted off the streets and into shelter and other services including detox through the Honolulu Police Department’s H.E.L.P. (Health, Efficiency, Long-term Partnerships) interagency outreach program. These outreach efforts include transportation and close coordination with the state and provider members of Partners in Care.

—PAU—

SA: Vast piles of trash at Waianae beach