Irma debris pickup could take six weeks, but ‘there are no guarantees’

Seven days a week, trash collectors will be out in Manatee County gathering up storm debris until the last fallen twig and moldy carpet after Hurricane Irma is gone.

Although the process is detailed, there’s no set schedule on which area will be picked up when, acknowledged county utilities department public affairs liaison Amy Pilson.

“We’ll have a better idea once we’re out in the community,” she said.

The familiar Waste Pro and Waste Management trucks won’t be out collecting storm-related debris. SCS Engineering will be responsible for sorting through garbage to make sure it’s from Irma before it is hauled away by AshBritt Environmental.

Residents should separate waste that was a result of Irma into three categories: vegetative waste like tree limbs and leaves; appliances like refrigerators and air conditioning units; and construction and demolition debris like drywall and mattresses. Normal household garbage and recycling will be picked up on its usual schedule.

It needs to be separated as such, Pilson explained, so that loads can be accurately recorded for the county to get reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.

If residents take matters into their own hands and bring their storm debris to Lena Road Landfill, it’ll cost them.

“We prefer that it not be brought to the landfill,” Pilson said, adding that residents would have to pay tipping fees and most likely wait in line. “We’re not designed to deal with a huge influx of business.”

None of the storm debris picked up by contractors will end up at the landfill, she said. The trees and leaves will be grinded; the appliances could be sold elsewhere for scrap; and construction debris will have to go to a landfill capable of taking that type of waste.

While it’s not yet known how much Irma trash is out there, crews cleared 570 cubic yards of vegetative debris over the weekend, mostly from Manatee County schools ahead of their reopening Monday, Pilson said.

To put that into perspective, that’s enough to fill about 1,000 of the county’s recycling bins.

The utilities department will have daily briefings, and they’re still waiting on about 10 claw machines that are capable of picking up large bundles of tree limbs at one.

An estimated timeline this early in the process, as crews headed out in unincorporated Manatee County on Tuesday, is between two to six weeks.

“There are no guarantees,” Pilson said. “With the Florida weather that may come up ... we would maybe have to stop work until that passes. That could delay it or extend the process a little bit.”

Anyone with questions can call Manatee County Utilities Customer Service at 941-792-8811 or visit www.mymanatee.org/garbage.

This story was originally published September 20, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Irma debris pickup could take six weeks, but ‘there are no guarantees’."