Raise your hand if you've ever diligently put your bulky item out on the curb the night before the city's scheduled bulky item pick up only to have that old toilet still sitting out there when you got home from work the next day.

Yeah. That's right. Sometimes they just don't show up.

If the city is going to start handing out fines for people putting out their broken sofas and dead appliances on the curb too early, they need to do a better job on their end. What happens if they're late picking up the old toilet? Does that make us early putting it out there for the next time and thus open to be fined? That ain't fair.

This is not to say that there aren't scofflaws, slobs and idiots who drive around neighborhoods throwing out old sofas in the middle of the night. We know they are and we hate their guts. Something definitely has to be done about the mountains of broken things left on the sidewalks in places like Mo'ili'ili and Salt Lake. Go right ahead and fine 'em if you can find 'em, Mayor Hannemann. But they're hard to find, and not like anyone is going to fingerprint the dead toilet to see who REALLY put it out in front of Mrs. Shintaku's house if Mrs. Shintaku swears it isn't hers. And why should innocent homeowners hang for other people's illegal dumping?

There are several problems with disposal of bulky items, all of which have to do with the fact that they're BULKY. If a little old lady lives alone and only has her good-for-nothing nephew one Saturday a month to help her clean yard and move heavy stuff, she has to get him to move the old toilet when he's there. She can't very well kick it to the curb herself. Likewise, what do you do with the stuff you aren't taking if you can't time moving day with bulky item pickup day?

And what are folks supposed to do when the City Bulky Item Pick Up crew doesn't show up when they're supposed to? Haul the rusty freezer back in and try again next month? Bring it back out every night in case they come by? Be "proactive" and dump it in an empty lot on Wai'anae Valley Road?

Of all of O'ahu's problems, who knew bulky item pickup was such a hot-button issue? A hire-three-new-inspectors issue. Wow. Why not just hire three new bulky item pick-uppers and stay on schedule?