There are no sewer lines or sewage waste treatment plants in South Hawaii. All homes are equipped with septic tanks or cesspools. Septic tanks have replaced cesspools in most new construction. If you plan to build a new home, you must check with the Department of Health ( 808-933-0401 Hilo or 808-322-1407 Kona ) for the requirements on your property. When purchasing an existing property you should carefully check the waste disposal situation for the property. Recently, there have been problems with some older properties that use "gang cesspools". Gang cesspools have multiple homes connected to a single large cesspool. EPA regulations have triggered a mandate that outlaws these situations. See:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/drinking/hawaiicesspools.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/underground/notes/news-jan04.pdf
Most people in South Hawaii take their garbage to one of the free county waste transfer stations. There is no government sponsored garbage home pick up. In some areas you can hire a private service to pick up your garbage for you. This is one of those little "inconveniences" that some people will find quite objectionable, however, there is another way view this. Taking more responsibility for the disposal of the trash that you produce puts you more in touch with your affect on the planet. You simply develop the habit of taking care of this issue whenever you find that you will be passing a transfer station.
| On the right is the road to the Waiohinu solid waste transfer station. Additional stations are present near mile marker 100 on Highway 11 and in Milolii. There is discussion of the addition of a new transfer station near Ocean View, but don't hold your breath for this to happen. Things move slowly here. |  |
