Question: I change the engine oil, axle oil, gear oil and radiator fluids for our vehicles. I have been putting them in the same plastic gallon container they came in from the store. I do not know where to dispose of them.
Answer: Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services explains on its Household Hazardous Waste web page (808ne.ws/40pMZVS) how to dispose of small quantities of many common toxic substances, including waste you mentioned. Here is a summary of ENV’s advice for the items you named, as well as some other automotive fluids.
>> Brake fluid, motor lubricants, motor oil and transmission fluid: Absorb and place in trash can. “Pour liquid into a plastic bag with absorbent material, such as shredded newspaper, old rags or sawdust. Once liquid is absorbed, seal the bag, then throw away in trash can.” Use a separate bag for each oil or fluid; do not mix waste. If using an oil-change box, an absorbent container sold in auto-parts stores, place it in trash container.
>> Antifreeze (a form of radiator fluid): Schedule an appointment to drop off at a Hazardous Household Waste Event organized by the city. Call 808-768-3201 or email householdhazardouswa@honolulu.gov. You must provide your full name, home address, phone number, list of items with container size, and preferred drop-off time between 9 and 11:45 a.m. on the day of a drop-off event. The next event is scheduled for March 15.
>> Gasoline, diesel, fuel additives, mixed fuel: Schedule an appointment to drop off at an HHW event, as described above.
The HHW web page lists disposal methods for dozens of types of residential hazardous waste, in small quantities. Households with large quantities of any type of HHW must call the city’s Refuse Division for disposal instructions.
Q: Looking at the aerial footage, it’s a shame swimming pools couldn’t be used against the L.A. fires. It looks like so many burned houses had pools.
A: The technology exists to convert a backyard swimming pool into a de facto fire hydrant, albeit one with limited capacity, but it’s unclear how many California homes have such setups. You can read more about one such pumping system at firepoolusa.com, which says it can be used to “pump water straight from your pool onto your home, patio, outbuilding, vegetation, vehicles, livestock, or other flammables. Defend your property yourself, or leave ready-to-use hoses for the Fire Department.” The system needs a generator to continue pumping water if the power goes out.
Garden tours
After nearly five years, guided tours have resumed at Foster Botanical Garden, expanding guests’ enjoyment of the urban oasis. The tours, led by docents, were suspended when the garden closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic; although the garden eventually reopened, the tours did not resume until now.
The 90-minute tour begins at 10:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, rain or shine, said a news release from the Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation. The tour is included in the price of garden admission, which is $5 for visitors, $3 for kamaaina and $1 for children ages 6 to 12 years. Kids age 5 and younger are admitted free.
Tour reservations are recommended but not required. Make a reservation by calling 808-768-7135 or emailing hbg@honolulu.gov, the news release said.
The 14-acre Foster Botanical Garden, at 180 N. Vineyard Blvd., is the oldest of the city’s five botanical gardens, featuring 21 trees protected by Hawaii’s Exceptional Tree Act among thousands of tropical plants, trees and flowers at the site, it said.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
