Look at the clock, at the calendar on the wall. Another hour has gone by, another day, another week, and the trash keeps piling up. The fact that it's piling up miles from where most of us live and work, out of sight, has made it easier to ignore the reality that landfill space is running out.

It's not only running out, it's really running out — as in six months from now, the original deadline for shutting down the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill will have passed.

The neighbors of that trash heap can see it, smell it, quite clearly and have a right to protest before the city Planning Commission about the extension of the landfill's life. For years, O'ahu elected officials have seen this day coming and did nothing about it, and the people on the island's West Side are angry.

Now our backs are against the proverbial wall. There really is no choice but to extend the landfill, and considering that city leaders have seen this day coming for decades, that's a disgraceful failure of their public duty.

The real imperative now is that there be an about-face and a concerted effort to change course. That means everyone.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has to press ahead with the draft of the city solid waste management plan, months in the making, due to work its way through government review. Some elements of that plan — including arrangements to ship trash to Mainland landfills — have been discussed but need to be solidified. Continued promotion of recycling, including speedy expansion of the new curbside recycling program, is another must.

As for the City Council, members need to ratchet down the political rancor enough to have a frank discussion about another landfill site. Yes, another location, this time far from the Leeward Coast, must be found, and O'ahu can't afford to wait for one community or another simply to volunteer.

And while that seemingly Mission Impossible progresses, the council might adopt a more progressive environmental policy. Council members Ann Kobayashi and Donovan Dela Cruz have shown initiative along these lines with a raft of "green" proposals, some of them aimed at waste reduction. For example, they've proposed a ban on the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags and greater reuse and recycling at city facilities. If incentives could be found for promoting reusable bags and otherwise cutting packaging, it would be even better.

Such ideas could complement the mayor's own sustainability proposals. There's no need for one-upmanship here: It's about cooperation, not competition.

But the people who really need to take control are the residents of this tiny island, the ones who really can turn the tide. If anyone could and should demonstrate that recycling and curbing waste are relevant concepts, it's the people who pay the taxes and give politicians their power. And the best way to communicate this is through participation in the planning .

Those who have been given the first shot at curbside recycling should make the most of it, and those still on the sidelines should start hammering on the door of their Council reps, demanding the same chance.