(BIVN) – The Hawaiʻi County’s Solid Waste Division (SWD) and the Office of Mayor Mitch Roth announced that “creative solutions” will allow five Big Island transfer stations to resume regular, daily operating hours starting on Monday, September 13.

Two weeks ago, it was announced that the Hāwī, Keauhou, Hilo, Kea‘au, and Pāhoa transfer stations would have to enact a temporary closure schedule until further notice, “due to COVID-19 safety precautions”.

From the County of Hawaiʻi:

If all goes as planned, daily operations will resume on Monday, September 13. Returning to normal operating hours will be the Hāwī, Keauhou, Hilo, Kea‘au, and Pāhoa transfer stations. Since August 31, COVID-19-related staffing issues have caused interruptions and reduced services at the Hāwī and Keauhou facilities to Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the Hilo, Kea‘au, and Pāhoa facilities to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

“We’re proud to have found creative and out-of-the-box solutions to return vital services to our communities in the midst of the pandemic,” said Mayor Mitch Roth in a news release. “We understand the importance of ensuring reasonable and equitable access to our transfer stations and remain committed to doing whatever we can to preventing further closures to the best of our ability. Breaking down silos was a focal point of our administration, and this is just one example of how collaboration between departments, across all sectors, can help us solve some of our toughest challenges.”

“Once again, during these transfer station closures, people have shown the willingness to come together and work toward a solution,” said Ramzi Mansour, Director of the Department of Environmental Management. “I would like to thank the Office of the Mayor, the Department of Health, Department of Public Works, and the Department of Human Resources, and the hard-working Solid Waste Division staff that worked beyond expectations to continue the services by ‘holding the torch’ as others were out due to the unpredictable COVID-19 Delta variant.”