OAHU, Hawaii -- It may be a couple of weeks before the first shipment of garbage gets sent from Oahu to the Mainland.

The latest delay for the trash company is being blamed on the USDA.

There are 7,000 tons of garbage waiting for a ride to Washington State.

"They're falling behind so it's starting to concern us now," said City Environmental Services Director Tim Steinberger.

The first shipment out on a barge for the bales of trash was supposed to be on Sunday, but Hawaiian Waste Systems said it's still waiting for final approval of their permit from the USDA, allowing the company to ship the garbage to Longview, Wash.

It's been a rough start for Hawaiian Waste Systems.

In October, the company had to stop accepting trash for 12 days when they didn't have enough containers and then to install a shredder which still hasn't been connected completely.

Under the current permit Hawaiian Waste Systems has 75 days to ship the trash. Otherwise, it has to be taken out of the containers and rewrapped.

The company began collecting the city's trash on Sept. 28. They now have 25 days left to get if off the island.

"Technically, by that permit they could continue to rewrap every 75 days. The problem is where do you store it while we're delivering some 300 tons a day," Steinberger said.

Hawaiian Waste Systems said they're confident they have enough space at their facility at Campbell Industrial Park and at the docks to store the trash until the permit is approved which they said they're hoping will happen in the next couple of weeks.